


Lights in the Dark of a Dying World

by smolgudako



Category: Fate/Grand Order, Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, balancing out death and doom with memes, multiple masters au, too many characters to tag so I just hit the major ones
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-03
Updated: 2019-08-31
Packaged: 2019-10-21 16:06:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 60,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17646026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smolgudako/pseuds/smolgudako
Summary: They are bold. They are bumbling. They know absolutely nothing about magic.Jillian and Melody just wanted a summer job. Recruited for their magic circuits and Master potential alone, Jillian, Melody and the other three members of Chaldea’s beginner team are the only Masters to survive the explosives that Lev Lainur planted at Chaldea. Equipped with very little knowledge, heaping piles of anxiety, and an infinite number of memes, these walking magical disasters are, unfortunately, the only hope we have left.





	1. In Which We Meet Our Heroes

_Suggested listening: Everybody Knows by Sigrid_

* * *

 

**The Missing Year: Week 1, Day 1**

This meeting was not supposed to turn out this way.

Five Masters sat in a circle on the floor of Chaldea’s command room, all injured, tired, and in various states of disbelief.

“We have good news and bad news,” Roman said slowly, shoulders slumping.

“The bad news is that a massive attack on the facility has destroyed most of the base, trapped all our active Master recruits in their coffins, and cut us off from the outside world,” Da Vinci said, shaking her head.

“Good news: the Masters are safe, just stuck, or so we currently believe,” Roman said.

“Bad news: Chaldea isn’t picking up any readings from humanity past the end of this year.” At Da Vinci’s gesture, all the recruits looked over to the large globe, currently glowing an ominous orange.

“The next good news is that you’ve just corrected one of the singularities that might be causing that, though, and survived.” Roman put his hands in his pockets

“What’s the bad news that goes with that?” A girl with a mohawk looked back and forth between Roman and Da Vinci anxiously.

“There are more of them,” Roman said sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck. “We should be able to track them down, but locking on a location might take a while, so I suggest taking time to rest and recuperate while you’re able.”

“Is there any more good news?” The smallest Master in the circle asked glumly, rubbing her injured ankle.

Dr. Roman looked down with a grim smile at the group of dirty and bedraggled recruits, nodding slowly. “Congratulations, Chaldea beginner team. You’ve just been promoted.”

 

* * *

 

 

**Earlier That Day:**

Jillian pushed her suitcases into place near the foot of her bed, taking in the room she’d been assigned at Chaldea’s base, high in the mountains. There were no windows, probably for both security and central heating reasons, but at least it was a room all to herself, complete with basic furniture and a stash of Chaldea’s standard uniforms in her size.

She’d just arrived this morning along with her friend, Melody, and was really just happy not to be there alone. Actually, if they hadn’t both been accepted, she probably wouldn’t have gone. Moving to the middle of frozen nowhere for a top-secret agency was no joke, and moving to the middle of nowhere for an agency that wanted them to become mages was even less of a joke.

They hadn’t believed it at first. They’d both gotten the pamphlets in the mail, but it looked so sketchy that neither of them had responded until someone physically showed up at their apartment door, claiming that they were there to interview them.

They still hadn’t believed it until the employee blasted the door open with an energy bolt.

And then proceeded to repair the damage.

With magic.

With a sigh, Jillian shook herself free of the memory, just happy that it was a paying job with room and board. The pay was _really nice_ , too, especially when you considered that they were only on the beginning team. They were the backups to the backups of the backups, and possibly farther down the line than that, recruited solely for their Master capability and without regard for magical talent, though according to their briefing, all beginner team members possessed varying amounts of magical circuits. It was kind of like Harry Potter.

But with adults.

And secret NGOs.

According to the department, it was an experiment to see if people born with Master capability outside mage families could develop their magical circuits enough to reach the same potential as other mages. They were forced to sign a gag order, but other than that, they were free to leave whenever they wanted. Melody and Jillian desperately needed jobs, with Jillian having just earned her degree and Melody on summer break from graduate school, so they went for it. One for all and all for one…

Opening the sliding closet door, Jillian looked skeptically at the skirt, tights, and white jacket hanging in rows reminiscent of a cartoon character’s closet. Harry Potter style robes would admittedly have been an improvement over _this_ disaster. Oh, well. She didn’t have a choice, and needed to go to the meetings. The uniform felt clunky and awkward, the skirt oddly breezy compared to the straightjacket-like buckles on the white top, and it took her a few minutes of fumbling with the straps to adjust them so they would loosen enough to clasp over her chest, but she finally got everything on. She pulled at the hem of the skirt, trying to yank it down so that she didn’t feel quite so exposed, and failed entirely. With a sigh, Jillian shook her head at the mirror, combed her fingers through her long mohawk to settle her hair, and opened her door—

Only to find Melody standing in front of it, hand raised to knock.

Jillian glanced down at her short friend and couldn’t help but laugh, placing her hand over her mouth as she tried and failed to hide her snickers.

“It swallows you whole, M!” she giggled, glancing at Melody’s uniform. Instead of almost being too short, the skirt draped to her knees, the hem of the jacket reached the tops of her thighs, and she’d cuffed the sleeves because they were far too long. The combination of her long, dark hair in a ponytail and the oversized uniform made Melody’s already round, cherubic face looked even more childlike, though they were both in their early twenties.

“We have the opposite problems, clearly,” Melody said with a chuckle, glancing at Jillian’s nearly too-tight jacket. “I brought my hand sewing kit, and this place is so massive you’d think there would be a uniform repair area somewhere in this place with sewing machines. I might be able to help us out later.”

“Yeah, you’d think… They’d have to have something like that in order to be self-sufficient this far away from everything else,” Jillian mused, pulling the door shut behind her. “The question is if they’ll let you use it.”

“They better,” Melody said, sulking as they started off down the hall. “This isn’t cutting it.”

Jillian followed the signs on the walls until they found the conference room where they were meant to be meeting. Oddly, they seemed to be walking in the opposite direction from most of the other Masters, but their message about a meeting said they’d be having a separate conference from the other active Masters. After all, they were the beginner team. It was a last minute change, but the director decided that it would be best to keep them away from what the current teams were working on, both for security reasons and to keep them out of the way.

“This is it, I think,” Melody said, pointing to a sign that read “conference room B.”

Inside, three other people already sat waiting. Jillian waved hello as she entered while Melody flashed a smile and introduced herself.

“Hi, I’m Melody. This is Jillian— she’s a friend of mine who came here with me.”

“Oh, that’s cool that you already knew each other,” said a skinny boy with unruly blonde hair. “I’m Grant. Nice to meet you.”

“Joseph,” said another one of the masters, waving. He looked to be about their age, but he was incredibly tall and built like an ox— it looked like he could crush them with muscle strength alone if he wanted, his smile and voice were gentle.

“Hannah. Hey,” said the last girl, flashing a salute and pushing her sandy brown hair out of her face with one hand. Her uniform didn’t seem to fit her very well, either. The sleeves on the top were too long, and like Jillian, she kept pulling at the hem of her skirt.

“Nice to meet you.” Jillian pulled out a chair and plopped down. They seemed like an okay group. Maybe this wouldn’t be too bad after all. Do some training, learn some fancy magic tricks, make some easy money, and then go home and… never talk about it to anyone. Well, except Melody. That would make it easier.

After all, they were the lowest-ranking members in the whole organization, and this program had been planned out years in advance. How bad could it possibly be?

* * *

 

**The Missing Year: Week 1, Day 2**

The next day, still scraped and bruised, the five Masters stood around the summoning circle with grim looks on their faces. Melody leaned on a crutch, having sustained an ankle injury in Fuyuki that prevented her from walking normally. Dr. Roman said it would be weeks under normal circumstances, but with a little magical help, she would be on her feet again soon.

After only a few hours of rest, Da Vinci was quick to bring them all together again. This time they met in the summoning area, which… Honestly, looked like an incredible disaster.

A large magic circle set into the floor of the room glowed blue, obviously powered by a massive amount of electricity. It looked like it might spin, but Melody couldn’t be sure, as dirt and debris so thoroughly covered the room that it obscured any detail. There were wires sticking out of the walls and beams hanging down from the ceiling, precariously bent and broken. Chunks of concrete and other debris coated the floor, and it only took a moment to note why: there was a _massive hole_ in the ceiling that went clear up to the second floor. They could see the remains of what had clearly been a conference room at some point if they squinted beyond the tangled metal beams.

“The summoning circle hasn’t been very effective before, but considering our current situation and your recent return from Singularity F, I want you all to give it a try,” she said, gesturing towards the circle with her staff.

“Are we sure it works?” Hannah asked skeptically, glancing around at the fallen beams and debris.

“Quite certain. We’ll get working on repairs this week, but it should be stable enough for you all to try,” Da Vinci said confidently. However, she was likely the only confident one in the room.

“I thought you needed a catalyst for that,” Melody pointed out, glancing between Da Vinci and the large circle on the floor. She wasn’t certain how they expected to summon anyone in this state, but she was willing to try.

“In the past, we did, though there are exceptions to every rule. I encourage you to try and see if anyone responds. After all, the more allies we have, the better. Grant, why don’t you go first?”

Everyone’s eyes shifted towards Grant, who seemed a little nervous. “How do I do it?” he asked, looking to Da Vinci for help.

“Just focus your mana on the circle, and it should start to spin. If you’re looking for someone specific, you could use a catalyst, but barring that, just concentrate. Focus on something you want, or something about yourself. Your allies may come to you, regardless.”

Grant held up his hand, taking a deep breath and focusing on the center of the room. As Da Vinci said, the circle began to spin, lighting up the room with a white glow so blindingly bright that Melody had to close her eyes. When the glow faded, in its place stood a familiar hooded figure, wearing sandals and brandishing a staff.

“Hello, Master,” said Cu Chulainn. “I see you’ve failed to summon me as a Lancer, but that’s alright. I’ll still assist you.” He walked out of the center of the summoning circle, where Grant happily shook his hand, a relieved smile on his face.

“It’s good to see you again.”

“Next!” Da Vinci called. “Joseph, come on up.”

This time, a tiny figure in a mushroom-like hat emerged from the white light, her long pigtails unfurling behind her as she smiled. She was only a little taller than Melody, making her height difference next to Joseph almost comical.

“Rider-class servant, Marie Antoinette!” She said with a wave, bounding over to Joseph with a wide smile. “You must be my Master.”

Jillian went next, the circle almost immediately beginning to spin. They watched in anticipation as the light slowly faded, revealing a tall, abnormally busty woman clothed entirely in purple. Jillian’s eyebrows shot up to her hairline and her jaw dropped open.

“Berserker class, Minamoto-no-Raikou,” the woman said, smiling kindly.

“Hi,” Jillian said with an astonished wave, nodding slowly.

“You have a big heart!” Raikou said with a wide smile, immediately pulling Jillian into a crushing hug. “I think we’re going to get along well, Master!”

“Can’t… breathe…” Jillian muttered, voice muffled against Raikou’s chest as she gently patted the taller woman’s back. Raikou let go a moment later, blushing awkwardly.

“My apologies, Master.”

“My turn?” Hannah asked, eyebrows raised. Melody nodded, gesturing for her to go ahead. She could wait. In fact, she’d like to not be in this situation at all.

The circle spun, and light flashed, leaving a man clad in golden armor in its wake. Hands on his hips and chin held high, he seemed light a knight at first, but his posture indicated a higher status. He scanned the room until his eyes fell on Hannah, stepping out of the summon circle with a strange grace for the amount of heavy armor that he wore.

“I like your attitude,” he said bluntly. “… For an untrained mongrel, that is.”

“Uh… Who are _you_?” Hannah asked, crossing her hands over her chest.

“I am Gilgamesh, King of Heroes,” he snapped, “and _you_ just thought that you’re not about to let someone treat your home or your people like a toy. For that, I am willing to work with you as my Master.”

Jillian blinked twice, glancing over at Melody as Hannah and Gilgamesh continued their staredown. “Who is he?”

“Gilgamesh is a king in an ancient Mesopotamian story, the oldest piece of epic poetry in existence,” Melody whispered. “King of Babylon. Very rich. Went on a quest for immortality once. Long story.”

“Thank you, Chief Historian,” she said with a nod.

“Your turn, Melody,” Da Vinci urged gently.

“O—okay,” Melody said with a nod, stepping up to the summoning circle.

Focus on something… about herself? Something she wanted?

In that minute, Melody couldn’t think of anything she wanted. Her readings said that all the servants in the grail war had a wish, something they wanted so dearly due to their regrets in life that they were willing to come back and fight in the grail war. However, she couldn’t think of a wish. She wanted… she wanted to see her family again. She wanted to save the world. She wanted to be a better mage, a better person, someone more suited to the job.

She wanted to rise to the challenge because she had no choice, because there was no one else to take that responsibility except for the five of them, and in that moment, Melody found a the tiniest kernel of conviction and seized it with all her might. She had to get stronger, she had to _be_ stronger, both mentally and emotionally, because if they failed…

The circle started to spin.

Melody didn’t open her eyes when the light cleared. She almost didn’t want to know who stood in front of her. The servants and magic terrified her on some level, legendary figures who were at once terrible and powerful. The others seemed to have summoned someone who matched their personalities, but who on earth could ever come in response to someone small and afraid?

She kept her eyes shut through the clink of metal and the thump of footsteps, growing closer with each step, until finally a heavy hand fell gently on her shoulders. Melody’s eyes fluttered open, meeting deep blue eyes framed by locks of blonde hair.

“Heroic Spirit, Jeanne d’Arc,” she said quietly. “I am of the Ruler class, Master.”

“An extra class…” Roman murmured, but Melody barely heard it.

Jeanne d’Arc, the Holy Maiden. Martyr. Saint. A godly woman, dead at a younger age than Melody was now, and braver than she thought she ever could be. Not a warrior, not a knight, but a hero all the same, who had done what she needed to do because God called her, because she had no other choice. Melody had never put much thought towards Jeanne’s possible physical appearance, but she was surprised to find that they were the same height and similar build, like looking in a strange mirror.

Melody surged forward and hugged her, disregarding her armor and her flag. Jeanne made a small, surprised noise, hesitating for a moment before she wrapped her arms around Melody.

“Thanks,” Melody murmured.

“You’re quite welcome.” After another moment, she let go, moving to stand beside Melody as Roman walked by, looking not unlike a commander surveying his troops. In this case, perhaps he was.

“We’ll need to train you all quickly to deal with this situation,” Da Vinci said carefully. “I can assist with your mage training, and Dr. Roman will work with you on team building.”

“It looks like we have the potential for a good team here, though we’ll have to work on meshing you together,” Roman said, nodding. “King Gilgamesh and Raikou can focus on damage, and Marie can deal secondary damage as well as support.”

“What about us?” Grant asked, gesturing to himself and Melody.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Melody asked, a tiny manic giggle slipping out. “Cu can support as a Caster, but Mash is a Shielder. We’re the _tanks_.”

Roman just nodded. “Between Mash’s shield and Jeanne’s battlefield support, you’re ideal for tanking and healing.”

“The tiniest people on our team… are the _tanks_ ,” Joseph said flatly.

Jillian nodded, burying her head in her hands. “We’re doomed.”

* * *

 

**The Missing Year: Week 1, Day 3**

Arguably the best thing about being the only Masters left in Chaldea was that Roman didn’t bother to enforce the uniform rule. Well, occasionally he mentioned something about it, but what was he going to do if they went around in casual clothing? Melody, for her part, was very glad to be out of her too-large uniform and back in something that fit, and she suspected that Jillian felt the same. Clad in workout gear, the Masters assembled the next morning in Chaldea’s training room, which was thankfully located in the intact part of the facility. Training dummies, mats, and training weapons abounded, but Roman said he wasn’t concerned with technique today.

“We’re working on team building today, both with each other and your servants,” he said cheerily. “The energy surge to the summoning area has put it temporarily offline, but Da Vinci is working on repairs, and it should be back up soon. In the meantime, we’re lucky that you each managed to partner with a servant. It gives us a basic team structure to work with, and it will help in tackling singularities.”

“So we’re doing… trust exercises or something?” Hannah raised an eyebrow. Gilgamesh didn’t look thrilled about the idea, either.

“Essentially, yes,” Roman deadpanned. “My suggestion is to split you into two squads. We can run various scenarios, but in general you’ll cover more ground that way.”

“I think we should go with Raikou,” Melody said softly, turning towards Jeanne. “She’s really strong, but her stats say she doesn’t take damage well.”

Jeanne nodded her agreement, but Roman paused, eyebrow raised.

“How did you know that?” he asked curiously.

“I asked Da Vinci to show me the servant logs on the computer. I can’t fight very well, especially with this ankle still healing, but I thought I should know my team,” Melody said with a shrug. She leaned against a crutch for today, and would be on one for the next couple of weeks while her injured ankle healed from the ceiling debris.

“What else did you learn from the servant profiles?” Roman asked, smiling softly.

“I know Gilgamesh is basically considered the strongest servant of them all. He has at least three noble phantasms, including the Gate of Babylon, the Chains of Heaven, and the sword Ea,” she said softly. Gilgamesh smirked, the corner of his mouth twitching upward, but Melody continued speaking. “I know that Marie’s noble phantasm should probably help his damage output, but that we still don’t know which Heroic Spirit is inside Mash. I also know that I shouldn’t let Jeanne use La Pucelle.” Melody raised an eyebrow, casting a very threatening look towards Jeanne, who simply smiled.

“I also know that Joseph is predisposed to gem magic and Grant favors fire magic, even though he’s untrained. You were planning on testing the rest of us…” she trailed off, leaving the rest unsaid. They all knew: everything changed after the explosion.

“Da Vinci will help you with that later today,” Roman said with a nod. “Now, let’s get moving with those teams.”

In the end, the training hour ended… Well, badly, to say the least.

Hannah and Gilgamesh spent the majority of the time bickering, once with Gilgamesh resorting to restraining Hannah with the Chains of Heaven. No one could quite figure out why the King of Heroes responded to her during the summoning, but neither could they deny that the pair was stuck together. Their relationship might be a work in progress, though Roman seemed to be satisfied that neither of them had killed the other one yet.

Joseph and Marie seemed to be having a grand time re-enacting scenes from musicals and discussing baking, but needed near-constant reminders to stay focused. They eventually settled on discussing Marie’s class designation, which Roman supposed counted close enough to team building and relevant information that he couldn’t complain.

Grant and Mash practiced a basic self-defense routine, discussing how best to use Mash’s noble phantasm after Cu Caster determined how to release it in Fuyuki.

Raikou scorched the wall with her lightning while demonstrating her power to Jillian, and then had to be brought back to earth when she started asking how well her master was eating. Roman simply told her to reign in her mothering tendencies, to which she responded by making a face so sad that he gave up on the spot.

Melody and Jeanne made middle-ground headway, but they couldn’t do much physically because of Melody’s ankle. After learning that Melody was also religious, they settled on participating in a prayer together and practicing meditation and mental communication. They only made a small headway on that front, just a few words or snatches of sentences audible in the other person’s mind.

“This… this is going to take some work,” Roman murmured to himself at the end of the session, before clapping his hands once and speaking in a louder voice.

“O-kay, let’s stop for lunch for today! Everybody go fuel up and meet with Da Vinci after for some magic training.”

Melody could interpret what that really meant: this wasn’t going well.

* * *

 

The good news: Since it was on a remote mountaintop, Chaldea kept an extensive supply of food and resources for a much bigger population that it currently housed in the kitchen.

Even better news: The incredibly large kitchen and the food stores remained intact after the attack.

The bad news: No one knew how to cook particularly well.

Lunch, it turned out, was boiled potatoes with chives and some grilled sausages on the side. The remaining staff had worked out a cooking rotation while the Masters trained, and it would likely be simple fare from here on out. However, it wasn’t bad food by any means. Plates in hand, the Masters sat in a group at the table, though most of the servants chose to eat quickly and go explore Chaldea in their free time. Jeanne stuck around, but kept her distance from the group, sensing that they needed space. Mash ate with them, since she was in a similar situation and knew them from their arrival at Chaldea.

“So, how did you guys wind up in this mess?” Grant asked, raising an eyebrow as he picked at his food. “I was just looking for a job, myself.”

“I was on summer break from graduate school. Thought it would be a good way to make a little more money than teaching during the summer,” Melody said.

“Wait, you’re in grad school? How old _are_ you?” Joseph asked.

“Twenty-four,” Melody said through gritted teeth.

Grant cleared his throat, sensing that it was a sensitive subject, and turned to Jillian and Hannah. “How about you two?”

“I’m an interior designer, so I work on contract. I’m between jobs and it looked like a better option than waiting around and applying for positions unsuccessfully,” Hannah said, spearing a chunk of potato with her fork.

“I just graduated from college and I’m still trying to find a job.” Jillian shrugged, leaning back in her chair.

“About the same for me,” Joseph said with a sigh. “This seemed like a better alternative to multiple part time jobs in fast food or retail. How about you?”

“Me?” Grant asked, blinking. “I guess I just don’t know what I want to do with my life yet. I mean, vaguely, but vague ideas aren’t doing me a lot of good.”

“Same,” Jillian deadpanned.

“Hear, hear,” Joseph said, raising his water glass for a moment before drinking.

“Well, I guess we’re doing something now.” Hannah shrugged, staring off into the distance.

Melody didn’t say a word, lips pressed together in a flat line. Perhaps she couldn’t quite identify with the idea of not knowing what to do with her life, as her own plans had been so suddenly turned upside down, or perhaps they were all thinking the same thing: it didn’t matter where their lives went any more. Not if they failed.

Jillian, for her part, was much more excited for magic training than physical training. After all, what kid didn’t dream of being able to do magic?! Of course, they had a lot more at stake than first year Harry Potter making his way to Hogwarts, but she was excited to start training.

“Alright, let’s talk magic,” Da Vinci said, waving her staff in a wide circle. “Each of you has the potential to work some kind of magic, but we’ll need to talk about what kind you’re specifically predisposed to. Individual tests indicate that Joseph is predisposed to gem magic, but the rest of you have plenty of possibilities. We’ll run a few basic test ideas to see what works for you.”

Joseph, obviously, did well with gem-based magic, so he decided to stick with that as his primary method and let the others take their turns. Since he was adept at science, creating magical gem bombs seemed right up his alley. Grant knew a few basics of fire magic, which would likely work well with Mash’s defensive capabilities, so Da Vinci simply wrote that down as his primary skill set during any further training.

The rest… were more difficult.

Jillian, the artist of the bunch, had difficulty with elemental magics. She lacked raw energy required for fire, the concentration for earth, and the clarity of mind for air, and though she had the fluidity necessary for water magic, it was impossible for her to control. Not to mention, water could be disastrous combined with Raikou’s lightning, and she would really prefer not to electrocute anyone… including herself. They tried pistols as a secondary, but she wasn’t fantastic at aiming, and lightning-based magic worked poorly, to say the least.

“Jillian, what are you good at? What’s your specialty?” Da Vinci asked with a sigh, feeling stumped.

“I… embroider… things?” she said carefully, shoulders hiking up to her ears in embarrassment. She had degrees in studio art and arts management. She wanted to work at a museum, not save the world in a top-secret organization higher on the scale of crazy conspiracies than some of the wild theories about the pyramids!

Da Vinci opened her mouth. Closed it. Opened it again… and smiled. “Try envisioning your magic as a thread.” Reaching over to press Jillian’s palms together, Da Vinci looked her in the eye before speaking again.

“Imagine a thread connected between your hands. Got it?”

“Got it,” Jillian said, squeezing her eyes shut.

“Good. Now…” Da Vinci pulled Jillian’s hands apart, leaving a stream of white magic in their wake, fine as spider silk and ten times as strong. “Shape the thread.”

Jillian’s eyes went wide and she stuttered for a moment before the thread started to move, twisting over itself in loops upon loops. At first the thread moved slowly, and then more quickly, spiraling on and on our of her palms until…

“Did you just knit a magic scarf?” Hannah asked, eyebrow raised. Melody collapsed laughing, and the others looked at her like she was clearly out of her mind.

“I— I’m so sorry, it’s just the _meme_ —” she said through a fit of laughter, wiping a tear from her eye. “ _’Whoops, I made a scarf!_ ’”

Jillian blinked slowly, trying to think of—

_Oh._

As soon as she remembered exactly the picture that Melody was thinking of, she also started laughing, and the laughter was contagious. More than likely, Da Vinci hadn’t expected to have a squadron of laughing Masters on her hands, but it was better than nothing.

“We’ll work on it,” Da Vinci sighed. “Next.”

Hannah, as it turned out, was an active kickboxer, or at least knew enough to be proficient, and Da Vinci decided that it might be best to incorporate that. Her take-no-shit attitude combined with a desire to be more physical than magical in combat and a servant who specialized in ranged attacks meant that she would be both useful as a close-combat Master and have someone to cover her back while she fought.

“Focus all your energy into your fist and imagine it releasing on impact,” Da Vinci instructed.

… The punching bag didn’t quite survive that attempt.

Hannah’s goals for the next week focused on control.

Unfortunately, Melody wasn’t quite so lucky. She was a little small for physical combat and not prone to it, anyways. Elemental magic didn’t seem to agree with her, and she had trouble releasing the magic contained in gemstones. Da Vinci had a feeling she would have tangled herself in her own threads if she’d even been able to produce them, but if there wasn’t actual computer data that showed Melody had magic circuits, the Caster would have given up already.

“Keep trying,” she eventually said, placing her non-gloved hand gently on Melody’s shoulder. “I’m sure we’ll find what it is. We just have to keep looking.”

“Okay,” Melody said with a nod, biting her lip. Jillian felt bad for her, but they would figure it out soon, she was sure. They always found a way out of things like this.

She tried not to think about the fact that this time, they didn't really have a choice but to find a solution.

* * *

 

**The Missing Year: Week 1, Evening of Day 5**

Jeanne sat at the corner of Melody’s bed late one evening, armorless and wrapping her Master’s ankle in a clean bandage. The places where the falling stone cut into her skin were healed, but she still needed regular checks, and could only walk with the use of a crutch for another week, according to Dr. Roman.

“I can do it myself…” Melody protested, feeling a little guilty for the help.

“Don’t worry. I may only have battlefield healing skills, but I can do this much, and it would be awkward for you to reach by yourself.” Jeanne continued to wrap bandages around Melody’s ankle in a comfortable silence. The good thing about having a saint as your partner, Melody thought, was that she never seemed to be overly eager for information that you didn’t want to provide. Their temperaments meshed well, so long stretches of reading, walking around Chaldea, or other silent activities didn’t feel awkward for lack of conversation.

“You know, you’re kinda my hero,” Melody said quietly, lowering her gaze as her partner tied off the bandage. “And don’t say you’re not a hero. You’re literally a Heroic Spirit.”

“Alright, I will concede that point,” Jeanne said with a smile. “Though, I don’t believe I’ve done anything more heroic than anyone else here.”

“It kind of took a while to sink in because of all the danger, I guess, but the first night after we went to Fuyuki, I just lay there and thought… ‘That is a person who never lost her faith. Not even till death.’” Melody sighed, finally looking back up. “I want to be like that, with faith in God and faith in other people. I want to believe the best, but… How did you do it?”

“You already have a strong heart.” Jeanne gently placed a hand on Melody’s shoulder. “Don’t think that you have to be hardhearted or close-minded to be strong or faithful. The strongest people are the ones with the softest hearts.”

“It hurts to have a soft heart,” Melody mumbled, face burning with shame. She felt as though she didn’t have a right to say that to Jeanne d’Arc of all people, a woman who had died for her faith and didn’t even hold any bitterness in her heart from it.

“I think it’s worth it,” Jeanne said softly, running her hand through Melody’s hair. Despite being only eighteen years old, she seemed much older to Melody in that moment. Or perhaps the value was in her youth. Perhaps she possessed something that Melody had lost, or given up, or shed along the way to where she was now. Most days, she wasn’t certain she could get it back.

“How long left till I can walk again?” she asked, changing the subject as she blinked rapidly, looking away from Jeanne.

“If I keep healing you in the mornings, perhaps two weeks.” Jeanne stood from her seat at the edge of the mattress without further comment on their previous conversation. “I will see you in the morning, Master.”

“Goodnight, Jeanne.”

She paused for a moment, hand resting gently on the doorknob, and turned back towards Melody.

“Do you know why I responded to your summons?”

Melody shook her head.

“You thought, at least in that moment, that it didn’t matter if you lost your life if you could save the rest of the world. Your self-sacrificial nature is your weakness and your strength. You burn of your own doing. Be sure not to burn yourself out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! This fic is mostly just me playing around and having fun with character development, but it's already been written and will update twice a week until it's fully posted. Expect updates on Sundays and Wednesdays.


	2. In Which Jillian Journeys to France

_Suggested Listening: “100 Years” by Five for Fighting_

* * *

 

**The Missing Year: Week 4, Day 2**

Three weeks later, the group woke up to messages that they had found the next singularity and should report to the control room immediately after breakfast. They’d discovered the second singularity thanks to frantic searching and scanning. No one except Da Vinci and Roman really understood the process, but as long as they found what they were looking for, that was fine. Jillian had been spending most of her time exploring the complex, occasionally bringing Melody snacks in the library to make sure she was eating while engaging in her favorite coping mechanism: burying herself in books. Chaldea’s library was a great place to do that, but Jillian wasn’t one for spending much time among the stacks. She’d rather draw, or run, or do something with her hands.

In any case, a new mission was a welcome reprieve, even only three weeks after their first adventure in Singularity F. There was no guarantee how long this would take, but not knowing made her more anxious than having a timeline, every day passing in agonizing anticipation until they found themselves back in the control room, talking to Da Vinci.

“I have something for you that will come in handy out in the field,” Da Vinci said proudly, opening a box to reveal five large, diamond-shaped gems, each in a different color. “You can already communicate with your servants, but these will allow you to communicate with each other. They run on mana. Put them on your wrist and they become a bracelet.”

“Magic walkie-talkies?” Hannah said, picking up the green gem. “Neat. Thanks!”

“Am I Sailor Venus now?” Joseph asked as he picked up the orange gem. He placed it on his left wrist and wide bands immediately formed a circle around his arm.

Grant took the purple gem, Jillian the blue one, and Melody the pink.

“Alright, everybody into the coffins. It’s time to rayshift,” Roman said brightly, clapping his hands together.

“I’m not going,” Melody said firmly.

“What do you mean you’re not?” Jillian asked in disbelief.

“My ankle is still in a brace, and I can’t run yet. Jeanne is helping speed up the healing process, but it’s hard to focus on one area, and it’s slow going because our bond is so new. I’ll be slow and get in the way if I go. Jeanne can still go with you even if I stay behind, so you’ll have her support, but I’d only slow you down,” she said sheepishly, looking at the floor.

“No, we’re not leaving you behind—” Joseph began, but Gilgamesh cut him off.

“She’s right. She’d only be a burden in a rayshift—”

“Hey!” Hannah interjected indignantly, but he didn’t even acknowledge she’d spoken.

“—but she can stay here and assist with repairs to the control room and updates to the summoning area.”

Melody looked up suddenly, nodding slowly. “That was the plan, yeah.”

“A good king knows his subjects’ strengths. Armies don’t win battles because they try to be inclusive. They win because they strategize. This is a strategically sound decision,” Gilgamesh said, and for once he didn’t sound quite as arrogant as they thought he was.

“I can’t believe you actually said something I agree with,” Hannah muttered under her breath. Gilgamesh scoffed.

“ _What_ was that, mongrel?”

“Nothing… _bastard_ ,” Hannah said under her breath, rolling her eyes, but moved into position for the rayshift. Gilgamesh practically growled, looking somewhere between murderous, insulted, and impressed that someone actually had the balls to call him that to his face.

“You sure you’re gonna be okay?” Jillian asked, tossing a glance back at Melody.

“Yeah, I’m good,” she said with a nod. “Promise. Go save the world. Have fun storming the castle!”

Melody waved dramatically, as if she was flapping a handkerchief, and Jillian couldn’t help but laugh. The situation was dire, and they all knew it, but if they couldn’t ever learn to laugh even at times like this, they would really be sunk.

* * *

 

**Singularity: France, Day 1**

… Okay, maybe they were sunk anyways.

Even after the briefing on rayshifting from Roman and Da Vinci, Jillian wasn’t prepared for the stomach-turning sensation of being transported to somewhere completely different. If she had to pick a description, it might be similar to something like vertigo combined with severe nausea and an impending migraine. Roman said their bodies would become used to it with time, but the first shift was rough… on everyone.

Granted, at least they knew what was going on this time. The accidental rayshift was just as jarring on their bodies as well as not knowing where they were or why they were there. This time, they had a clear objective. Investigate the singularity, locate the grail, and do whatever they needed to do in order to retrieve it.

Upon landing, all four present masters doubled over or dropped to their knees entirely. Mash seemed to be the only one who was largely unaffected, but she was likely the most prepared out of all of them, anyways. Jillian bent over at the waist, trying to take deep breaths as her head slowly stopped spinning, squinting against the blindingly bright… sunlight?

Straightening up slowly, she turned in a circle and surveyed the area. They were standing in the middle of a large field that continued all the way to the horizon.

“Kyuu!”

Jillian turned to see a tiny, white furball scampering up Hannah’s leg to rest on her lap as she sat in the grass, trying to catch her breath.

“Hey, there, little dude,” she said quietly, still looking a little green as she gently scratched behind Fou’s ears. “Did you follow us?”

“So… what do we do now?” Grant hissed, glancing around like a path might suddenly appear, or a directional arrow like in a video game. Boy, Jillian had never truly appreciated the presence of a map in open world gaming until this very moment, but now she wished very much that they had at least a minimal idea of the kind of terrain they were about to cover.

“Theoretically, you should be able to summon your servants from here.”

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” Joseph screamed, whirling around.

Jillian screeched, too, shocked by both the intrusion and Joseph’s cry.

Grant flailed, his hands suddenly alight with balls of fire and ready to throw.

Hannah jumped, yelping as Fou scrambled up to hide under her hair.

Mash just flinched, looking around hopelessly at the four Masters.

Roman looked near expressionless, shaking his head. Or rather, the projection of Roman that had spoken looked expressionless, as he wasn’t actually there. It looked like a hologram or something similar, and though Jillian didn’t quite understand the science of how he was able to be here, she appreciated that they weren’t alone.

“You’re like Al,” she murmured, thinking of the summer that Melody made her watch every episode of Quantum Leap in order. “Can other people see you?”

“They should be able to, yes,” Roman said with a nod. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, though. See if you can call in your partner servants. You’re going to need them.”

“You wanna stay with me, buddy?” Hannah murmured to Fou, who had peeked out from behind her hair, but still rested on her shoulder. He gave a squeaking noise and settled down onto her shoulder, which Jillian assumed meant “yes.” Apparently Hannah had a riding buddy for the trip.

“Okay, let’s do this!” Joseph said, holding up his hand. The command seals glowed red, but did not disappear as Marie shimmered into place in a shower of golden sparkles.

“Hello, Master!” She looked around for a moment before her face fell, confused, though her eyes lit up soon after and she clapped her hands together with joy. “I see… we are in my home country. Viva la France!”

“Here we go, I guess,” Jillian muttered. She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to be doing except mentally putting a call out for Raikou, but that seemed to be enough. Along with Cu Chulainn’s Caster self and Gilgamesh, Raikou shimmered into existence.

“Hello, my darling!” Raikou said, immediately sweeping Jillian up into a hug. “How can I assist?”

“Um, no battles right now. Just trying to figure out where we are and which direction to walk.” Jillian hugged her back for a moment

“Well, I can tell you what direction you need to go,” Roman’s hologram said. “Walk north. Also, Jillian!”

“Eh?!” She jumped, pointing to herself as she turned to look at the hologram.

“Melody has asked Jeanne to respond if you call her, so if you need her help, just ask her to assist. She’ll come.”

“Which way is North?” Joseph asked, giving a sigh.

“Well, the sun’s not quite overhead, and it’s still pretty cool outside, so I’m taking a wild guess that it’s morning. Which means North is that way. I think.” Hannah squinted as she pointed off into the distance.

“North is that way,” Roman confirmed.

“I’m bringing a compass next time we go out.” Joseph tucked his hands in his pockets, shaking his head as he plodded off in the direction that Hannah indicated as the hologram disappeared. Oh, how Jillian wished she had pockets. They were still stuck in the ridiculous uniforms from last time, having mostly ignored them while casually walking around Chaldea, but Roman reminded them before leaving that they should wear them on missions. The next step when they got back would be to design these things. Her boobs needed room to breathe, and Hannah needed something she could run in without fear of flashing someone.

“So, Master, how is your magic training coming along?” Raikou asked genially. Jillian blushed, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly.

“Uh… not bad. I mean, I’m not really sure what all I can do yet. It took me a while to start conceptualizing items other than things that were… uh… Well, it took me a while to stop knitting,” she said sheepishly. “I’ve been trying to work on weapons, but right now they’re kinda… bendy?”

“Bendy” was right. Rather than stiff and strong blades, her thread weapons flopped like pasta noodles when they hit something, and stuck to the wall like it, too. It gave her some ideas to work on for later that involved sticky traps and hearty desire to re-watch Spider Man, but for now they were largely ineffective. She could tie things up, and that was about it.

“I’m certain it will come with time,” Raikou said, patting her back gently. “If you like, once you’re proficient at making weapons, I could instruct you on sword technique!”

“That would be awesome.” She really meant it, as soon as she was able to make some weapons that would actually stand up to something sturdier than a piece of paper.

“You know, your magic is especially suited to combat, perhaps even more so than Hannah,” Raikou said thoughtfully, swinging her arms a little as she walked.

“You think?” For her part, Jillian wasn’t sure. She could cast lines and knit sweaters, but otherwise she wasn’t really sure about the potential. Even forming a blade was beyond her at the moment.

“Think about it, Master. You’re able to create anything you want as long as you can envision it in your mind! Well, and as long as you have the mana to sustain it.”

“Too bad I’m not very mechanically minded…” Jillian grumbled. No crazy cars or planes for her. Actually, she’d be lucky to make a bicycle at this rate.

“You can make plenty of creative contraptions without the need for mechanical knowledge, but if you would like, Da Vinci might help you with designs.” Raikou put an arm around Jillian’s shoulders as they walked along, surprisingly soft and affectionate for such an incredibly powerful warrior.

“That’s… actually a really good idea. Thanks, Raikou,” Jillian said slowly.

“Ah, a mother has to look after her children, you know,” she said with a giggle. The thought made Jillian ever so slightly uncomfortable, but the longer she let the concept settle, the more she thought it was… endearing? It was kind of nice to have a servant who was so protective both physically and emotionally, and having a voluntary mother figure around might not be all bad.

Even though Raikou hadn’t been around long, Jillian noticed that she treated the other Masters similarly, making sure they ate and checking on how they slept when she saw them. They all felt a little abandoned and overwhelmed, as much as they didn’t want to admit it. All of them were still finding their own ways in life when they were dumped into this, and it seemed like for most of them, the servants weren’t only a mirror of their own personalities, but a mirror of the kinds of things they needed for help and support.

Jillian felt confident and safe around Raikou, reveling in her happy personality and her physical strength. Marie’s bright demeanor and creativity helped to fuel Joseph into more experiments with his magic. Mash and Grant shared an unbreakable kind of teamwork already, like a sword and shield. Melody and Jeanne looked and acted like two sides of the same coin, with Melody as the roiling waves and Jeanne the eerie calm under the surface. Gilgamesh was even good for Hannah, as much as she argued with him. Having someone else with a strong personality around helped to keep her grounded, and she had a feeling they would get along well if they… Well, not learned to bend, because she got the feeling neither would ever really back down, but learned where their values aligned and couldn’t be broken.

Jillian gazed off into the distance, looking over the hilltops for any signs of life. The whole world appeared to be a sea of green grass and flowers, all framed by a brilliant blue sky. They hadn’t seen anything else so far, but…

Wait.

She squinted into the distance, shielding her eyes from the glare.

Tiny forms were making their way over the tops of the hills. She couldn’t quite make it out from here, but they looked like people. And they seemed to be wearing armor?

“Uh, guys? Are those—”

“Soldiers. Yep,” Grant said, following her gaze. “Looks like bad news.”

Well, time to get started.

* * *

 

**The Missing Year: Week 5, Day 2**

The rayshift back to Chaldea was only marginally better, but it wasn’t helped by the fact that they now had a decent idea of who their real enemies were… and they weren’t to be trifled with.

A demon pillar? _Really_? Maybe Melody would know something more about it, between her historical and religious background, but at the moment she didn’t want anything but a hot shower and a good… Uh, scream into the void, maybe? As they pulled themselves from the coffins, streaked in dirt and uniforms in need of repair, a tiny welcoming party came into view.

“You’re back!” Melody said brightly, limping into the room. She hugged Jeanne and Jillian before beckoning them along towards the summoning area. “Da Vinci and I made some updates to the summoning circle. Come see.”

Really, she _did_ just want to shower, but this probably wouldn’t take long. Jillian followed Melody back to the summoning area, now completely free of debris from the explosives, though the hole in the ceiling still remained. Da Vinci crouched near the center of the circle, obviously making some adjustments to the wiring, talking to a man with long, black hair.

“Oh, meet Zhuge Liang,” Melody said. “He’s a new team member.”

“Hello, Chaldea Masters… and servants, too,” he said with a polite nod. Jeanne and Raikou were the only servants who had chosen to accompany them to the summon area, but they nodded their hellos. Melody was mostly relieved that Raikou didn’t deem it necessary to _hug_ him hello, as he didn’t really seem like much of a hugger…

“I see the list of names has been updated, so it appears you’ve made a few new allies in France,” Da Vinci said brightly. “Why don’t you try it out?” She closed the wiring panel and stepped back towards the wall with Zhuge Liang on her tail. Melody gestured to the circle with both arms, inviting the other Masters to step forward. Clearly, she didn’t plan on taking a turn, since she hadn’t made the trip, and appeared to have garnered a new ally of her own.

“Go give it a shot.”

Hannah went first. As the white light faded, they were able to make out the ghost of a figure with horns.

“Siegfried!” Hannah cried joyfully, rushing over to him.

“Lady of Heartsook!” Siegfried said with a smile, grabbing her forearm in a Roman handshake. “It’s good to see you again, Master.”

“Absolutely!” Hannah said with a smile, stepping back from the middle of the room.

“Excellent. Who’s next?” Da Vinci glanced back and forth between the remaining three Masters, finally pointing at Jillian. “Come on. Try.”

“Um… okay,” Jillian said hesitantly, stepping up to the edge of the circle. She shook her head in a way that clearly indicated “here goes nothing” to the rest of the room, and the circle began to spin. However, this time the figure in the white light was not someone they recognized. Long blue hair and a tight bodysuit took shape, and deep red eyes scanned the room.

“Who’s the snack in the spandex?” Joseph hissed. The man either didn’t hear or ignored him.

“Don’t you recognize him?” Grant looked incredulously at Joseph for a moment, unsure of how an outfit change was enough to make him unrecognizable. “He’s—"

“Lancer-class servant, Cu Chulainn.” His eyes scanned over the crowd of Masters and servants. “I… feel like I should know you people. Vaguely.”

“You told us to try and summon you as a Lancer next time. So. I did?” Jillian shrugged helplessly while Cu frowned, leaning on his spear like a walking stick.

“So I guess you’re my Master, then. What was I? Ugh, don’t tell me I was a Caster,” he said with a shudder, before taking in the looks on the others’ faces. “I _was_ a Caster, wasn’t I?” he deadpanned.

“Yep,” Jillian said with a nod, pressing her lips together in a flat line.

“Great. At least I get a Master who’s a looker this time,” Cu said with a groan, giving his lance a twirl. With a shrug, he marched right up to Jillian and threw his arm around her shoulders. “Well, come on, Master. Show me around. Brief me on the situation.”

“W—wait,” Jillian stuttered, throwing a glance back over her shoulder. She wasn’t sure if she should be offended or flattered by his comments about her appearance, and eventually settled on both.

“Go ahead!” Da Vinci said, waving them off. “We’ll debrief over dinner.”

“Have fun, sweetie!” Raikou said with a wave, obviously in no mood to help her out of her situation. Jillian was already blushing and flustered just from one conversation with him, as it seemed that his Lancer version was just as forward as his Caster self had been with Mash when they first met. She wasn’t quite sure how she’d survive a tour around the complex, but clearly there wasn’t another option.

“Okay, then, here we go,” Jillian said with a shrug, resigning herself to the inevitable. She didn’t bother to remove his arm from her shoulders. A flirt he might be, and his grip was firm, but it wasn’t uncomfortable, and if he was anywhere near as trustworthy as the version of him they’d met in Singularity F, she had every reason to feel at ease around him, extremely revealing bodysuit and all.

And oh, was it revealing. Jillian tensed just a little when she realized exactly how little it left to the imagination, and how close he’d gotten to her with no obvious intention to move.

She snuck a glance up to find him looking down at her, and he smirked when he caught her looking.

“Yes, Master?”

Jillian’s face went beet red. Guess that shower would have to wait, but that was admittedly fine with her. This was an acceptable alternative.

“N—nothing.”

* * *

 

**The Missing Year: Week 5, Day 6**

After the new servants arrived, there were plenty of extra hands around Chaldea to help with the day-to-day tasks as well as Master training. An archer in red named Emiya happily took over most of the kitchen duties with an enthusiastic berserker cat as his sous chef. No one was quite sure which heroic spirit he was, and he seemed hesitant to talk about his past, so they didn’t press him. He was, however, an excellent cook, and under his direction the meals improved considerably.

Thanks to Melody and Roman’s organization during the team’s jaunt to France, they had also managed to work out a rotating training schedule for the team. Each member had individual training time, group training, and training with their servant every day, alternating between physical and magic training. Sundays were days off for recovery, which both Melody and Dr. Roman insisted was necessary to keep them all sane.

 _Mondays_ were fair game, though.

The day after their return from France, the Masters stood in a semicircle around Cu Chulainn in the training area, ready for their first practical weaponry lesson. He’d offered to step in for Roman, who had been focusing on physical fitness rather than weapons tactics, and no one could think of a reason to refuse. Quite the opposite, in fact. Weaponry lessons would be useful for them, especially since they were all beginning mages. Da Vinci introduced the other four Masters, since Cu had already spent some time with Jillian after the summoning, and waited for his assessment of the team.

“This is the team that’s got to save the world?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. Da Vinci shrugged.

“They have a good track record so far.”

That was about all she could say, though, and they knew it. Their attitudes might be good, but their skills were lacking, and they couldn’t afford to bumble through another singularity. According to Roman, things would only be more difficult from here on out, so there was no time to waste. After Da Vinci left the room, heading off to her lab, the lancer took one more look around at the ragtag group in front of him.

“Well, I guess everybody’s gotta start somewhere, but… We’ve got a _long_ way to go,” Cu sighed.

A sound like a snare drum filled the room, louder than a firecracker, causing almost all the Masters to jump and Cu to go on the defensive, looking around for the source of the noise.

“What the hell was that?” he asked, looking from corner to corner suspiciously.

“Sorry,” Melody said sheepishly. “I meant to tell you yesterday…”

“That was you?” Joseph asked, eyebrows raised in surprise.

“Mmm-hmm. I can create magic sound waves. Wav— _Zhuge Liang_ — figured it out while you guys were in France. The only issue is that now that I know how to do it, I’m not really sure how to _stop_ it. When a sound pops in my head it just goes… out. It’s like he unblocked a dam and now the water just goes where it wants.”

“You’re like a human speaker,” Grant said with a smile. “High five— that’s super cool!”

Melody returned the high five with a smile before turning back to Cu. He blinked in surprise for a moment, nodding slowly as if taking stock of the situation. “Alright. Looks like we’ve got one gem specialist, one flamethrower, one magic fist, one tiny human subwoofer, and one deadly arts and crafts project. What a combination.” He gave a long sigh, shaking his head. “Today we’re not worrying about that, though. I’m going to teach you how to defend yourself without magic. Let’s get down to business. Everyone grab a— _what was that_?!”

Melody turned red as a beet as a brassy melody filled the air, cutting off abruptly as Cu shouted, but the echo of the tune remained. Joseph attempted to control his laughter, but failed. Grant and Hannah succeeded in only letting snickers and giggles slip past at first, but eventually caved. Jillian just laughed outright, doubled over and in tears.

“Well, we probably _are_ the saddest bunch he’s ever met,” she managed to gasp through her tears. “Oh, shit, I needed that laugh.”

Cu heaved a sigh, leaning on Gae Bolg as he gestured to Melody. “Okay. You, go find Zhuge Liang and figure out how to aim that, or stifle that, or do something other than provide a soundtrack. You can’t do much with your ankle in delicate shape, anyways.”

“Okey-dokey,” Melody said, removing herself from the room as quickly as she could, still blushing.

“The rest of you, grab a staff. We’re going to do some basic blocking and striking. Master, come stand here. We’re going to demonstrate.”

“Me?!” Jillian asked, eyebrows shooting up to her hairline. “O— Okay…” She hesitantly moved up in front of the other three Masters, staff in hand.

“Alright, I want you to try and block me.”

“ _WHAT_?!”

“I’ll go easy, don’t worry!” Cu said with a bright smile. Jillian felt like her legs turned to jelly at that smile, which didn’t make her any more confident about being able to block his strike. She moved into what she felt was a defensive position and waited till Cu nodded.

“Okay, here we go!” He sprang forward with blinding speed and Jillian reflexively squeaked, squeezing her eyes shut for the impact. When his wooden staff met hers, the impact seemed to vibrate through her very bones, tipping her off her feet and onto her ass on the floor mats. The staff tumbled out of her hands, landing on the mat with a dull _thunk_.

“I thought you said _easy_!” Grant said, rushing over to help her up, but Cu held out an arm to stop him.

“This is how you learn,” he said, squaring up once more. “Get up. Try again. You technically did block the strike, but try staying on your feet this time.”

Hands smarting a little, Jillian clambered to her feet, this time spreading her feet apart at shoulder width, one slightly behind her. Weight forward to lean into the impact instead of away from it. Staff gripped firmly in her hands, but no so tightly that the impact would hurt her. She nodded at Cu to strike out, and this time did her best not to close her eyes… all the way.

When Cu lashed out this time, the impact still made her arms shake as she swayed on her feet, but she didn’t fall. A wash of relief passed through her veins as Jillian opened her eyes to find Cu’s staff still locked against hers, his face only centimeters away.

“Good. I see my Master is a quick learner,” he said, flashing a toothy smile that made his red eyes narrow before turning back to the others, already launching off on a discussion of how practical experience was the best teacher. Jillian vaguely heard him saying something about moving off into pairs, but at the moment she focused on swallowing down the heat in her cheeks and at the tips of her ears.

She walked back over to Joseph, carrying her staff, with one thought echoing in her mind: _I am… so fucked. In so many ways._


	3. In Which Cu Chulainn Joins Colorguard

_ Suggested Listening: Kids in the Dark by All-Time Low _

_ Diegetic Listening: Rockabye by the Mayries _

* * *

 

**The Missing Year: Week 6, Day 4**

Thankfully, with Cu Chulainn taking over as a physical trainer for Masters, Roman had much more time to work on locating the singularities with Da Vinci. Waver and Emiya also helped with magic training, which left Da Vinci with more time to… Well, part of it was work, and other parts were inventing potentially useful (read: mostly useless or overly complex, but occasionally helpful) gadgets to help them on their missions. Normally, Cu and Emiya insisted that they wouldn’t dare work together, even as trainers in separate sessions, but fortunately, they’d bonded over a common enemy.

_ Un _ fortunately, that enemy was Gilgamesh.

Hannah didn’t mind going to physical training by herself or with one of the other Masters, but it meant that when she and her primary partner decided they needed an extra pair of eyes in training, they had to wait until Melody and Jeanne were free. Jeanne was almost the only servant who could stand Gilgamesh long enough to give him useful advice that didn’t make him nearly blow a gasket, and Melody possessed a near-infinite patience on most days. On days she didn’t, she knew when to leave the room. Today was  _ not  _ one of the days they were available, so they were left barreling through physical training on their own. Despite saying on multiple occasions that the King of Heroes would not resort to punching things out in a fight, he still participated in training with his Master, dodging and parrying her blows over and over again in fast-paced training sessions.

And for someone who insisted on not fighting physically, he was damn good at it.

“Focus!” Gilgamesh said, quickly moving out of the way as Hannah misplaced yet another punch.

“I  _ am _ focused,” she grumbled.

A series of punches and kicks missed their mark, shots of magic scorching the walls as they flew wide of Gilgamesh. A sheen of sweat covered Hannah’s forehead, and her face was flushed with more than just exertion. She felt dizzy, possibly with fever, but wasn’t about to let Gilgamesh know. He’d never let her live it down, the bastard.

“Why can you not admit that you need to rest?” he asked, sidestepping another blow.

“I’m not tired.” Hannah let loose another series of kicks. Only one hit the mark, but Gilgamesh used the impact to catch her leg and toss her to the ground.

“No, you are not  _ tired _ . You are utterly fatigued.” The Chains of Heaven spun down from the ceiling, wrapping themselves around Hannah’s arms and legs to suspend her in midair, dangling from a deadly golden web like a fly in front of a spider.

“Gil, let me down!” Hannah shrieked, pulling at the chains despite knowing it was a futile effort.

“ _ You don’t realize how fragile you are _ !” Gilgamesh yelled, his voice echoing off the training room walls. “I respect your fire, but you will only be killed for it if you cannot grasp your own mortality! You treated the last singularity like a suicide run, and it almost burned you up—”

“ _ I’m going to die here anyways! _ ” Hannah’s voice seemed to silence everything else in the room. No Gilgamesh, no ambient noise. Just the echo and a pair of red eyes staring back up at her. “This entire mission  _ is _ a suicide run, Gil.”

“Then what, pray tell, are you even fighting for?”

“For the rest of the universe.”

At this point, it didn’t matter to her if she lived or died. The situation was beyond hopeless. A bunch of rookie mages trying to save the world from demons that even the most powerful heroes of legend struggled to fight? Ha. They didn’t stand a chance… but she wanted to try, if for no other reason than the world deserved to live. Her own fate had been sealed the second she stepped into Chaldea, as far as she was concerned.

Gilgamesh snorted disdainfully from his position on the ground.

“What the  _ fuck _ is funny about that?” she snapped, yanking uselessly at the chains.

“If you’re going to fight for the rest of the mongrels, at least have the presence of mind to understand that you should fight for yourself as well.” He snapped his fingers and the chains vanished before Hannah could get a word in, and she dropped to the floor. Gilgamesh walked over, towering above her with his arms crossed over his chest. “At the end of the day, your strength and your fire will get you nothing if you expend it all on others.”

Hannah didn’t say a word, but got to her feet slowly, avoiding his eyes.

“You will live through this, even if I personally have to drag you back from the gates of hell.” Gilgamesh said bluntly, grabbing her chin with his thumb and forefinger and forcing her to look up at him. She batted his hand away, but he just placed it back at the same spot. “Now… why do you want to live?”

“I want…” she began, mouth feeling dry. “I want to go back to my life. Get a dog. Have a steady job and an apartment with big windows. I want to punch whoever did this in the fucking face.”

Gilgamesh laughed at that, dropping his hand with an approving nod. “Hold on to those wishes. I have no time for those who can’t see their own true value.”

* * *

 

**The Missing Year: Week 6, Day 4, a Different Part of the Building**

“Waaaaaver!” Melody called in a singsong voice, skidding around the corner and into Da Vinci’s lab. It was the only place she hadn’t looked for him yet, and thankfully he was there, though he wasn’t pleased about her calling him Waver. She couldn’t help it, though. She’d found his name in the file, and it just  _ stuck _ so much better than Zhuge Liang. 

Or Lord El-Melloi.

The second.

He was picky about that.

It had been days since Cu kicked her out of training, and she only had marginally better control over her powers. She could keep it together well enough to train with the others, which was good, but it wasn’t exactly stable. Cu was nice, and a good trainer, even though he was a little hard on them. They needed to be trained quickly, though, so she couldn’t blame him. However, the fact that he continually flustered her with both his chronic flirting and very close physical proximity didn’t help the control aspect to her powers. She could barely keep it together on a good day, much less in front of someone so… so… Well,  _ really _ attractive, to put it mildly, as well as an actual hero of legend. Her nerves were through the roof around him. Not showing it on her face was easy enough, but it still made her concentration falter, much to her disappointment, and that was a problem.

Waver and Da Vinci looked up from the workbench when she entered, waving their greeting.

“Ah, Melody! Perfect timing. I have something for you,” Da Vinci said, pushing a box into her hands. “These should help keep you from projecting out whatever pops into your head as long as you’re wearing them, at least until you learn to control it.

Melody gingerly opened the box to find a pair of black and white metal headphones, padded on the inside, but without any kind of cord or buttons.

“Um… thank you? How do they work?” she asked, turning them over in her hands.

“You have to channel your mana into them, but they’re basically the same principle as other headphones. They help keep the sound in here until you’re ready to use it,” Da Vinci said, tapping at her own forehead. “They also work like a conduit for your magic, so they should help with control and make sure you don’t burn out all your power supply in one go or overload your magic circuits.”

“You can  _ do _ that?” she asked in disbelief. Overloading circuits sounded bad enough when it  _ wasn’t  _ talking about something inside your body. She didn’t even want to think about what the results of what might be.

“Young mages can and do,” Waver said with a nod. “Now, I’m assuming you were looking for me to start your magic training. Let’s take these and see if they help.”

“Thanks, Da Vinci!”

“Any time,” she said, already looking through a magnifying glass at a different project.

It didn’t take them long to make their way from the lab to the training area, but unfortunately, the headphones didn’t seem to do anything but allow Melody to consciously play pitches in the air instead of unconsciously. Waver said she should be able to fire them off as attacks, but she just wasn’t getting the hang of it.

“For now, let’s try a different approach,” Waver said with a sigh. “You’re a professional musician, so you’ll need to think about this in a different way than other sound mages.”

Melody rolled her eyes, already anticipating where this was going.

“Yeah. Ha, ha. Let’s laugh at the professional musician named Melody who uses sound wave magic. What a riot,” she said, rolling her eyes. Waver, to his credit, didn’t seem any more amused than she felt. However, something struck Melody as odd and she paused, tilting her head to the side as she gazed at Waver. 

“Wait… I never told you I was a musician.”

Waver barely flinched, but she caught the subtle narrowing of his eyes.

“Da Vinci told me.”

It was a plausible excuse, but she wasn’t buying it. Something was fishy here, but there wasn’t time to investigate right now, and she didn’t get the feeling it was a dark secret. Something to be curious about, nothing more. Waver continued speaking then, dropping the subject entirely, which didn’t help his case for acting suspicious.

“Your brain processes and compartmentalizes sound in a completely different way than you might expect from someone who has never picked up an instrument. Even more so because you work with sounds  _ every day _ , as your career.” He rubbed at his temples, clearly exasperated. Melody couldn’t quite tell what the difference was.

“I mean, I’m technically a music  _ historian _ , so I don’t really play as much as a performer…” Melody mumbled, but one glare cut her off.

“You still have the training. I can’t teach you in the same way as I would a non-musician because your magic isn’t wired that way. Your  _ brain  _ isn’t wired that way. We have to start somewhere else. This would also explain why you’re so easily able to project sounds when they come into your head— you’re used to audiating.”

“So… you’re telling me I have to save the world with aural skills?” Melody blinked slowly. “I was never great in that class, you know.”

“Time to learn.”

Melody huffed, rolling her eyes, but she did take his words seriously. She wondered vaguely if there was a piano anywhere in Chaldea. That might be helpful if she planned on learning to audiate songs on command…

“There is a difference in sound waves and music,” Waver said thoughtfully. “Sheer sound waves have a variety of offensive applications, but I have… only  _ once  _ met a sound mage who could channel their mana into true music. You may have stumbled upon a versatile skill set.”

Melody bit her lip, thinking. The bits and pieces slipping past were single lines of music right now, but what if she added harmony? Could she produce more than one line at once?

“Let me try something...” she murmured, trying to pick out a pitch in her head. It vibrated through the air at a medium volume, held steady.  _ Okay, there’s do... _

A second pitch sounded, higher than the first.

_ Mi... _

And a third.

_ Sol... _

However, when she tried to sound the octave, the lowest pitch disappeared. Melody dropped her hands with a huff. “Well... it’s a start.”

“A very  _ good _ start for a beginner mage,” Waver said. Though Melody knew that he wouldn’t lie to her, she felt that her lack of achievement didn’t reflect on her skill as a mage so much as her skill as a musician, which was even more disheartening.

“I don’t think I can aim it when it’s like this, though. The overlapping parts won’t... they won’t lock like they’re supposed to,” Melody said, gesturing wildly with her hands as she fumbled for words.

Waver paused for a moment,

“Have you considered its application in support magic?”

“Like healing?”

“Not just healing. Battle support can also provide a power boost to your allies or hinder your enemies. It’s all about creativity in application.”

“Well... I think I’m shaping up to be the team support specialist, anyways,” Melody said with a sigh. “It would make sense that my magic is that, too.”

Waver stared for a long moment before taking a seat on the bench in the training area, patting the spot beside him. “Why are you troubled by that?”

“I feel useless,” she admitted. “The rest of the team has offensive skills, and all I can do is dodge and provide support while they do all the work.”

“I would argue that the uniqueness of your skills makes you more valuable, not less, but view that as you will. If you would like to learn offensive magic, you’re certainly capable of it, but we’ll need to do something differently than just thinking of sound waves for you…” He paced in a circle for a moment while Melody hummed, fiddling with her headphones to adjust the fit.

“If you’re going pick a sound to make an arrow, what does it sound like?” Waver asked.

“A…” She paused, cycling through instruments in her mind. “A piccolo.”

“Try to make the sound.”

A high, shrill noise filled the air, and Waver clapped his hands over his ears.

“Good! Now make it physical.”

“Make it  _ physical _ ? How?” Melody asked, eyebrows raised in panic.

“Materialize the sound!”

Melody closed her eyes and held out her hand, trying to imagine the sound compacting itself, of emanating from one place. After a moment or two, the source of the sound did seem to move, and she opened her eyes to find herself holding a bright white beam.

“Good. Now fire it.”

“Um…” Melody held out her hand, beam floating just above her palm, and pointed in the direction of the training dummy. She wasn’t quite sure how to release it, but she learned very quickly that the sound  _ wanted _ to move. At the slightest mental prompting it took off like a shot, burning a black mark into the wall, where it flew wide of the dummy she’d aimed for.

Waver let out a deep sigh, nodding in a way that suggested he wasn’t surprised, but possibly feared for his life and limbs if she kept that up.

“We’ll work on it.”

* * *

 

**The Missing Year: Week 6, Day 6**

Now that they had a few different servants capable of being regular trainers, Jillian and Melody were the only two left to continue physical training with Cu. Emiya took over Hannah’s physical training, and Grant and Joseph found a helpful partner in Siegfried. Not only did that free up more time for the servants, it allowed for the Masters to have more individualized attention that went with their fighting styles. Jillian and Melody were the wild cards of the group, though. Hannah was straightforward hand-to-hand combat, and Grant and Joseph both favored a combination of sword or staff and their magical abilities.

Jillian could create weapons from her thread, in theory, but wasn’t sure how to do that yet, though they got sturdier each time she tried. Melody just had no physical weapons at all associated with her magic, though it could technically be offensive… as soon as she could reliably hit a target.

Their training slot with Cu was after lunch, thankfully. Early morning training was  _ not _ something Jillian wanted to engage in. It would only lead to all of them becoming more easily frustrated than usual, or at least that’s what she assumed. Melody, as usual, was there early, reading a book an looking glum while she waited for the others to arrive. Jillian poked her forehead in greeting, earning a halfhearted glare.

“What’s up?”

“Eh,” Melody said with a shrug, closing her book. “I guess not much. Saving the world. Sucking at training.”

“I mean, you don’t suck any more than I do,” Jillian said, heading towards the supply closet to grab one of the training staffs. They were barely to the point where she could handle a match against one of the other Masters. Neither of them would stand a chance if they had to fight a servant, and they both knew it.

Maybe it was getting to Melody as much as it was getting to Jillian, but more on a subconscious level. Living at Chaldea was a little like living with a tornado looming over your shoulder. You never quite knew where the danger was, or how far you were from it, or when it would hit you, but it was always there and you knew that one day, it  _ would _ catch up.

“I don’t know. I just wish I could do… something. I feel like all the other Masters have physical weapons, and I can’t even handle weaponizing the magic I have at my disposal, much less a non-magical weapon,” Melody said with a shrug. “Cu hasn’t taught us much besides basic blocking and striking, and I can barely handle that. Even Jeanne can be deadly with her flag, even that’s not her primary purpose, you know?” she huffed, leaning against the wall.

Jillian suddenly had an idea.

“Here, take it,” Jillian said, grabbing a second staff and tossing it to Melody. She turned to the rest of the shelves in the supply closet, fishing around for two large towels.

“What are we doing?” Melody asked skeptically, barely catching the staff in time.

“Drop spins.”

“... Why?”

“Because it’s fun. And if you want a flag, then here’s a flag.” Jillian shrugged, tying the end of a large towel to her pole. Melody grabbed another towel and followed suit until they had two makeshift flags. The cloth was thicker than typical guard silks, which made the weight a little odd, but it would do in a pinch.

“I haven’t done colorguard since I was a student teacher two years ago,” Melody said with a laugh, giving her “flag” an experimental toss. The pole flew wide and she screeched, jumping out of the way as it clattered to the floor. “Okay, maybe we work up to tossing with the weird weight.”

“Sounds good,” Jillian said with a nod, spinning hers more conservatively as she tried to get used to the hand motions. Spinning a flag was a little like riding a bike, and their standard uniform gloves worked perfectly for handling the flags.

Soft strains of music filled the air, and she looked over to see that Melody had taken off her headphones, letting the music in her head fill the room with sound. Acoustic guitar floated around them at a moderate tempo, eventually taken over by soft singing, a simple texture with vocals and shakers.

“What do you remember from that ballet class we took?” Melody asked, spinning the flag without tossing it this time.

“Mmmmmm not much?”

“I only know bits and pieces, but this song always makes me want to dance. It has a good tempo for it,” she said, eyes fluttering closed as she turned. Her hair spun out behind her as she improvised, as she’d forgotten to tie it back again. “I haven’t quite mastered voices yet, so it’ll have to be instrumental.”

Jillian experimentally spun in a circle herself, but mostly stuck to tossing and swaying with the music. She took a few experimental steps across the room, letting the music seep into her bones, spreading a kind of calming energy through the acoustic melody, watching as Melody turned and jumped, occasionally stopping to spin her flag as she swayed.

They were so absorbed in their own improvised routines that neither of them noticed when Cu Chulainn actually arrived for practice. He stood by the door, eyes following each one of them in turn as they worked their way across the room in their own styles, Melody with jumps and turns, Jillian with steps and tosses of her flag.

“Why are we all spinning flags?” Cu asked, jolting them both out of some kind of calming trace that seemed to take over with the music. “Did someone forget to invite the Holy Maiden to practice?”

“Nope, it’s just fun!” Jillian offered, throwing hers up for a perfect helicopter toss. Cu’s comment must have flustered Melody, as the music disappeared into a silent void and she blushed furiously, looking a little embarrassed.

“You want to try?” Jillian asked.

“I don’t do flags,” he muttered.

“I bet you’d like it.” Melody’s voice was soft and shy, but the music resumed and she pushed her makeshift flag into his hands, closing his fingers around the pole. “Just humor us.”

Cu looked slightly embarrassed as Melody went to go grab herself another staff, but he waved it experimentally back and forth like a cheerleader at a college football game. Jillian smiled, but managed to keep from outright laughing for the sake of his pride.

“Come on, spin it like this,” she said, demonstrating.

Cu grumbled something under his breath, but tried spinning it nonetheless. After one spin gone wrong and a toss so high that it almost hit the rafters, it seemed like he got a handle on it. Melody kept the music going the entire time, soft acoustic strains, and Jillian wondered if there wasn’t something magical in her music even when she didn’t intend it to be that way. At some point, she started singing the melodic line under her breath as she moved, but none of them noticed when her voice took over for the instrumental melody.

_ Ooh, love, no one’s ever gonna hurt you, love _

_ I’m gonna give you all of my love _

_ Nobody matters like you _

Even Cu relaxed after a few minutes, all of them lost in a musical trance until Melody’s song finally faded out, leaving them all feeling oddly refreshed. Cu did seem a little embarrassed, setting the makeshift flag aside with a cough, a slight dusting of pink on his cheeks, but Jillian knew he wouldn’t be able to deny it if asked if he had fun.

“Well… that was a good warm-up. We should get started,” he said. Melody smiled brightly, cheeks flushed just a little from exertion, and put her flag to the side so they could get to work. As she put her own equipment away and exchanged it for a training weapon, Jillian wondered if she could get him to accept this as a normal warm up routine.

* * *

 

**The Missing Year: Week 7, Day 1**

“I have called this meeting of the Chaldea female Masters to formally state that we really fucking need a better wardrobe.”

Hannah sat on her bed with Melody and Jillian on either side, head in her hands. All three girls had plenty of Chaldea uniforms to go around, but unfortunately, the current items weren’t serving their purposes well. Hannah stared at the female standard uniform lying over the back of her chair in dismay.

“I mean… come on, boob straps? What even  _ are _ those? And I think our trip to France made it  _ pretty clear _ that skirts ain’t gonna cut it,” she said with a sigh.

“What happened in France?” Melody asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Lots of horseback riding. Also this awful thing where… You know what? let’s just say that Siegfried wouldn’t look me in the eye for a while.” Hannah sat up straight suddenly, clapping her hands together. “So. Ideas? I think step one is raiding the uniform closets to steal some pants.”

“Agreed,” Jillian said with a nod.

“It would be pretty easy to alter the pants from the men’s uniform if I had supplies,” Melody mused. “Too bad we don’t have any way of sewing around here.”

“Do you sew?” Hannah leaned forward a little in interest.

“I do. The only problem is that we’re kind of limited on materials…”

“Well…” Hannah said slowly, looking back and forth between Jillian and Melody.

“What are you thinking? That looks like a dangerous face.” Crossing her arms over her chest, Jillian leaned back against the pillows to wait for an answer.

“You can magically produce thread, right? Do you think you could weave it into something physical?”

“Hmm… maaaaaybe? I haven’t really tried. Seems  _ theoretically _ possible.”

“I bet Emiya could help you,” Melody suggested. “He specializes in projection magic, so he probably knows a lot about that kind of thing.”

“If Melody made new designs, would you be willing to make the pieces?”

“I would literally fight another one of those damn pillars  _ by myself _ in exchange for pants right now,” Jillian deadpanned. “So, yes.”

“I think we should check the supply closet. I’d kill for something with pockets, but I’d like a utility belt even more.” Melody suddenly paused, slumping. “Roman’s not gonna like this, though… He said the uniforms have support spells woven into the fabric, and that’s why they’re special.”

“So we make  _ better _ spells,” Hannah said firmly. “I’ll write them. You guys are handling construction, so I’ll handle the support spells. I’ll go check storage for other basic supplies, too, just in case we need them.”

“That’s probably a good plan,” Jillian said, nodding. From beside her, Melody nodded before rolling her shoulders, stretching her arms out as if before a run.

“Alright, get me paper and a pencil,” she said, fluttering her fingers. “Let’s sketch these fuckers. Any requests? Besides pants, I mean.”

“Can I have short sleeves?” Jillian asked, raising her hand. Hannah reached over towards her bedside table, snatching a notebook and pen from the drawer before handing it to Melody.

“I want to look… like a badass. But a functional badass. But also a pirate,” she said, smiling.

“I can do all those things,” Melody said with a smile. “I like the black and white motif, though. We should keep that to give it some unity.”

“Agreed.” Hannah nodded. “Can you tear off a piece of that paper? I’ll brainstorm some spell ideas while you sketch.”

In the end, they all fell asleep in a clump on Hannah’s bed sometime in the wee hours of the morning, surrounded by papers, but there were three distinct design ideas sketched out on scattered pages. The next time they went out, they would truly be prepared.

 


	4. In Which Most Roads Lead to Rome

_Suggested Listening: The Weight of Living, Part I by Bastille_

_Diegetic listening: Danny Boy (Traditional)_

* * *

 

**The Missing Year: Week 8, Day 7**

“Okay, everyone’s here now. Good morning, Chaldea tea— _what_ are you wearing?!” Roman spluttered, gesturing wildly as the three female masters walked into the control room.

“What do you think?!” Melody asked, giving a twirl.

“That is _not_ the standard uniform…” Roman grumbled.

“It’s more practical, though,” Grant offered, shooting a thumbs-up. “Where did you even get those?”

“Well, Melody drew the designs, Jillian made the fabric from her thread, and I wrote some spells to weave into them that help support our personal magic. So… team effort,” Hannah said, placing her hands on her hips. “We also raided the supply closet to look for some utility belts and gloves. Here,” she said, tossing one bundle each to Grant and Joseph. Grant scrambled to catch his while Joseph snagged the second pack from midair with ease.

“That’s heavier than I thought,” Grant said, surprised. “What all _is_ this?”

“We grabbed you both some gloves, a belt, and some better shoes from the supply closet. Boots for everyone, not those weird business casual shoes. Marie already packed your belt with gems for you, Joseph,” Melody said. “Each pocket is color coded with a different spell. She said you’d know which ones were what.”

“Awesome!” Joseph punched the air in excitement and quickly fastened the belt around his waist.

“Oh, and surprise! I packed the biggest pocket of all your belts,” Melody continued. “If you look, you’ll find paracord and two carabiners, a pocket knife, a flint, a compass, some basic first aid supplies, and two granola bars. In case you get snacky.”

“You’re mages, not going on a camping trip— why do you need all that?” Da Vinci asked with a sigh.

“If you’re asking that, then you’re relying too much on your magic,” Melody scolded. “We can’t guarantee we’ll be together the entire time, and I can’t make a fire without Joseph or Grant. I need a flint. The others can’t magically heal without me. If we split up and I’m not around or Jeanne isn’t near, they need to be able to patch themselves up.”

“She has a point, but… You found all that _here_?” Roman asked, blinking.

“The supply closet is actually more like a supply _warehouse_ ,” Hannah said with a shrug. “It’s huge as shit, but that makes sense considering it was supposed to be for all of Chaldea. The staff members were really helpful with finding things, so we just made a short list of what we thought would be most useful and kinda went for it.”

“Scavenger hunt in the supply closet,” Jillian said with a smile.

“You’re still lacking the spells on the old uniforms.”

“We gained new ones, though,” Hannah said proudly. “All the gloves have a low-level self-healing spell that should take care of minor injuries. Melody has a boost to her defensive magic, I have a magic attack boost, and Jillian has a pure mana boost to help with controlling thread familiars.”

“Alright, I’m impressed, especially for rookies,” Da Vinci conceded. “You’ve been studying.”

“Any questions?” Melody smiled, clapping her hands together. Joseph raised his hand before speaking, a wide grin spreading across his face.

“Can I get in on the next round of new uniforms?” he asked.

“You can’t just _change_ the uniform,” Roman grumbled, though the bush across his cheeks indicated that he had no real issues with their changes.

“We’re saving the world. I think we get pants if we want them,” Jillian deadpanned. “And sure, Joseph. Talk to Melody about design and we’ll work on it.”

“Yesssss!” He cheered.

“Okay, everyone into the rayshift now, please and thank you!” Roman said with a sigh, waving them out of the control room and towards the coffins.

* * *

 

**Singularity: Rome, Day 1**

“Okay, time to summon our traveling buddies,” Joseph said, stretching out as they landed somewhere in a field.

“What is it with landing in fields?” Grant muttered.

“It’s better than landing in a battle, Senpai,” Mash pointed out, and Jillian was very much inclined to agree with her. France was a good lesson in learning to summon their servants during a rayshift, and it came along a little easier this time. It wouldn’t be wise to travel in too large a group, as they didn’t want to look like an army themselves, but a few extra walking companions wouldn’t hurt if they ran into trouble. In her case, Jillian called up Raikou and Cu, who appeared in clouds of golden light.

“Hell— ooooh?” Cu blinked in surprise as he took in their appearance. “Is it just me, or do you all look _much_ cuter than the last time I saw you?”

“New uniforms,” Melody said, cheeks slightly pink. Jillian fought her own blush unsuccessfully, finally just giving in to the embarrassment and resolving to continue the conversation.

“Thanks, Cu,” she mumbled.

“No, problem, Master!” he said joyfully, throwing an arm around her shoulders.

“Jillian made them,” Melody said proudly.

“Well, _you_ designed them. I just made the thread,” she protested, waving her hands awkwardly.

“You made them? Physically _produced_ them?” Cu asked, brow furrowed in confusion.

“Emiya’s been teaching me projection magic to help me create things with my thread more easily,” Jillian said with a proud smile. Cu looked like he’d just bitten into a lemon.

“Emiya taught you that, huh?” he said slowly, eyes dragging across her form. “Great…”

Somehow, he didn’t sound like he meant it.

“I’m also working on producing familiars,” she offered. “I think they could be good scouts, but I can’t make anything bigger than birds right now.” She’d have to ask Emiya for more tips after they went back to Chaldea. In theory, she could produce an infinite amount of thread as long as she had the mana to sustain it. Familiars weren’t great for long distance scouting right now due to her own power limitations, but they could be used to survey a battlefield as long as she maintained conscious control over their actions.

“Congratulations,” Cu grumbled, dropping his arm and pulling away.

Jillian frowned, a little stung. She wasn’t sure what she’d done to warrant that. Maybe it was just that she wasn’t good enough yet, or that she should be able to do more with her magic? Then again, her physical training hadn’t come as far as he’d wanted, either… but Cu’s pace was nearly impossible to keep up with! He’d declared they were going out to kill fifty boars each one day before she reminded him that they couldn’t go outside, and that there were no boars out in the snowy wastelands around Chaldea even if they could.

She’d refrained from mentioning the possibility of rayshifting to somewhere that had boars. It seemed like a disaster waiting to happen.

Well, maybe if she just kept working, things would be fine. They all still had a long way to go as mages, and sometimes it felt hopeless, but they would make it. They had to.

“So… which way now?” Jillian asked, trying to dispel some of the tension.

“Well, you know what they say: All roads lead to Rome,” Melody said with a shrug, starting off at a brisk walking pace. Zhuge Liang stopped her with a hand on her shoulder, though, spinning her 180 degrees around.

“While I’m inclined to agree with that, Master, I would like to point out that Rome is _this_ way.”

* * *

 

**Singularity: Rome, Night of Day 3**

Melody woke in the middle of the night, shivering from the chill despite her blanket. Out of all the things she’d expected to encounter in Rome, incredibly cold nights hadn’t made the list. Pulling herself up off the ground, she threw her blanket around her shoulders and looked around, surprised to see a silhouette by the fire several yards off from their sleeping area. They’d made camp with Nero’s army, but it wasn’t one of Nero’s soldiers near the fire.

She walked over quietly, but not too quietly. After she recognized the figure, she knew he’d be just as likely to attack her as realize that she was a Master. Softly, so as not to wake the others, she let a tune slip from her fingers, wafting slowly through the air and unbound by Da Vinci’s headphones, her footsteps crunching through the grass as she made her way closer to the fire.

Melody sat down without speaking, letting her music do the talking for her as her eyes lingered on Cu’s silhouette in the darkness, tracing over the lines of his face, the muscles of his arms and legs as he perched on the ground near the fire, even now looking like he would be ready to spring at any moment.

“That’s a nice song,” Cu said quietly. “What is it?”

“It’s called ‘Danny Boy,’” Melody said with a soft smile, her cheeks turning pink in the darkness. “It’s an Irish folk tune. I thought you might like it.”

“It sounds like home,” he admitted, but didn’t offer more information. Melody kept pouring her magic into the song, bringing the tune to life in the air as they sat by the fire. The others appeared to be asleep, and it wasn’t his turn to be on watch, which made her even more concerned. She could feel her own heartbeat in her chest, her nerves taking flight.

“Is something wrong? You’ve been moody all day. I think you’re worrying Jillian.” Melody fiddled with the hem of her shorts, sneaking glances over at his face, while Cu simply stared into the flames. After a moment, she didn’t even bother to hide that she was staring. He wasn’t looking at her.

“Don’t worry about it,” Cu said, shaking his head. Melody’s heart sunk, thinking she might be bothering him, but… he didn’t seem like he was annoyed with her presence. It had to be something else.

“Too late, I’m worried.” She elbowed him in the side gently, but he seemed determined not to talk.

“You’re a good kid,” Cu said with a sigh. Melody’s nose wrinkled in distaste.

“I’m not a _kid_ ,” she grumbled, stung. “I’m not that much younger than you.”

“Oh, really?” he asked with a laugh. “How old are you? Sixteen?”

“I’m twenty-four, the same as Jillian and Hannah.” She crossed her arms over her chest, well aware that pouting didn’t help her look any older, but this was getting a little out of hand.

“That’s a good one, but you’ll have to do better than that, sweetheart.” He gave her a skeptical smile and patted her on the head gently, and she absolutely lost it.

“I am twenty-four years old, dammit! I know you’re not any older than 30.” Melody groaned, burying her face in her hands. “Ugh, I hate my stupid, chubby face…” Her voice was muffled and slightly distorted from frustration, but Cu definitely heard it. He draped an arm around her shoulders, laughing good-naturedly as he patted her back.

“Hey, don’t worry about it. Eternal youth isn’t the worst curse.”

“Yeah, that’s what my grandparents say,” she muttered. That didn’t help, though. It just made her think about the fact that she might never see them again. Unconsciously, she started playing the “Danny Boy” melody again, drafting through the air without direction, though this time a soft harmony line played underneath.

“Does it have words?”

“It does, but…” she paused for a moment, restarting the song in a different key. “I can’t sing that high,” Melody explained sheepishly, holding her hands out to the fire to disguise how flustered she felt. Her blanket felt like a literal security blanket as she quietly lifted her voice up to the stars, letting the lyrics take over her thoughts.

“ _Oh, Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling…_ ”

She sang softly, unsure of what her goal was, but let her emotions flow into her magic.

“ _From glen to glen, and down the mountainside…_ ”

She thought of reaching over, but didn’t touch him. Maybe he didn’t want to be touched. He seemed like he needed something different.

“ _The summer’s gone, and all the roses fading. It’s you, it’s you, must go and I must bide._ ”

Melody’s eyes rested on the stars above, picking out constellations as she sang through the second verse. When she finished, she let the instrumental tones fade into the night, crickets and the wind taking the place of wooden flutes and drones.

“You know… I don’t… know what you did, but thanks,” Cu said, patting her back before standing and stretching. “I feel a little less stir-crazy now.”

Her heart gave a lurch when he smiled, offering a hand to pull her up off the ground. She gratefully accepted, nearly crashing into him as he pulled up with a little too much strength.

“You need more muscle— you’re so light, you’ll blow away,” he said, shifting his hands to her shoulders to steady her. Melody blushed, thankful for the cover of darkness and the sharp shadows from the firelight.

“I’ve been this size for ten years and I haven’t blown away yet.” Melody smiled, her gaze lingering just a little too long before she turned away. “Go get some sleep, okay? I know you need it.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Cu said with a wink.

* * *

 

**Singularity: Rome, Day 5**

Joseph had to admit, if someone told him that one day he would meet a tiny girl in a red dress, criticize her fashion choices, and then be told that the girl was Emperor Nero, he would have laughed in their face. He would have laughed even harder if that same person said that they would get along quite well. However, here they were, traveling together in ancient Rome, spending nights at camp and having quiet conversations along the side of the road while they walked. Nero’s flamboyant personality meshed well with his own penchant for theatrics, and he found himself oddly attached to her after only few days. Despite knowing all of the terrible things Nero did in life, her presence was oddly comforting and her confidence overpowering in a time when he felt very uncertain, and he chose to trust her.

“Does it feel weird to be… back?” he asked, footsteps kicking up dust along the road.

“Back? You mean alive?” Nero raised an eyebrow, green eyes going wide.

“Yeah.”

“Well, I suppose we are not truly alive, if you think about it. Alive means that you have the potential to change the world, to make a difference, to take charge of your era and leave your mark,” she said wistfully. “My time has already passed, and you are evidence of that.”

“But is it weird knowing… you know…” he trailed off, unsure if there was a polite way to ask someone if they were aware that they’d died. Then again, Nero wasn’t truly a servant, or at least he didn’t think she was. She’d appeared in this era in a different way, like a pseudo-servant or something similar, because it was her home. The details were a little foggy in his head, but perhaps he could clear them up with Roman later.

“Death is a natural part of life. It would make sense that I die at some point. What is important is not death, but what comes before it,” Nero said nonchalantly. She tilted her head to one side curiously, turning towards Joseph just a little more as they walked. “And now a question for you: You may need to kill people on your journey. When the time comes, will you be able to do it?”

Joseph opened his mouth to respond, but no words came. He wondered if he would be able to swing the sword when the time came. His gut instinct said no, he wouldn’t ever be able to do something like that, but if it was the difference between him taking a life and saving the world, what would he do? Where was the line? At what point did moral ambiguity stop being untrustworthy and start being a survival mechanism? And though he hadn’t been the person killing soldiers in their battles so far, were his hands really free of blood?

“I don’t know,” he finally said. Nero nodded slowly, head held high as she continued to speak in that regal manner of hers.

“Heroic Spirits are quite different than humans. They are already long gone, so you should feel no burden on your conscience if it becomes necessary to dispatch one of them.”

Well, she had a point there. At least he could take solace in the fact that the servants were already dead, disappearing into a shower of light and returning to the Throne of Heroes rather than falling in a pit of blood and bones.

“What about the rest of the people?” Joseph asked, staring off into the distance where the sky met the green hilltops. “Who are the soldiers? Who are the civilians? Are they Heroic Spirits? Or are they just humans from another time, and this is all that they get? How do you differentiate? _Should_ you differentiate?”

“That is up to you, and you alone.” Nero followed his gaze, but could not determine where he seemed to be looking. “You must live your life in a way that will enable you to have no regrets. How you choose to do that is your own decision.”

“I don’t want to kill people, but if it comes down to it, in the moment… I don’t think I can make that decision until I’m there,” Joseph said slowly, the words settling like a weight in his chest. He wasn’t sure if he could take the anxiety of that decision, but he knew that making a choice before you were presented with the options was to doom yourself prematurely.

“That is a wise answer,” Nero said with a nod. She leaned over a little, tapping the area over his heart with one finger. “I believe you are made of strong stuff. You will make the right decision.”

“I’m not so worried about making the right decision as living with the cost.”

Nero smiled sadly, her shoulders slumping a little. “Ah… Perhaps Heroic Spirits are not the best entities to help you with that dilemma. They are, after all, beings born of both great deeds and their own regrets. You never know— you might become one yourself.”

Joseph snorted skeptically, shaking his head. “Somehow I doubt that.”

“You _are_ heroes, though. You are saving your world, and not only yours— mine, theirs, all of history.” Nero smiled as brightly as the sun, gesturing all around her with a wide sweep of her arm. “The world might never know you, but they will owe their entire existence to you. Never forget that. Let it be your light in the darkness to come.”

Joseph glanced to the side, where the rest of his team made their way along the road to Rome. He wondered what kind of things their souls were made of, and what would be the breaking points that bared them, as well as his own. _We are such stuff as dreams are made on_ , said Shakespeare, but Joseph was uncertain that even their strongest cores could handle the dreams of an entire world, an entire future. Perhaps Nero was right, and the journey they faced wasn’t so much about beating back the darkness, but finding something they could use as a light along the way so that the darkness didn’t overtake them entirely.

* * *

 

**The Missing Year: Week 9, Day 6**

Waking up after a rayshift was an experience that Jillian didn’t think she’d ever enjoy. It was like waking out of the fog of a dream while still just a little hungover, and when the haziness faded you looked down at yourself to find you sustained injuries from your dream.

That last battle really took it out of her. She’d sent two familiars over the field to scout while brandishing a thread sword and one throwing knife. Surprise: throwing knives were extremely useful when you could just yank them back and throw them again. Jillian had taken a few hits, but none of them were too terrible, though she suspected her back was bruised from falling on the ground.

Her body felt… suspiciously _stiff_ as she scrambled out of the coffin, too, like everything had been stretched out of place and put back together again. She groaned as she pulled herself to her feet.

“You okay, Jillian?” Joseph asked, offering a hand which she gratefully accepted.

“Yeah, I’m fine, I’m just really sore…” Jillian said, rolling her shoulders once she was standing again. “It might just be my back again.” However, it didn’t feel like just her back. She was sore all over, like someone had taken a rubber mallet to her entire body and left invisible bruises that ached when she breathed.

“Why do all three of you have back problems?” Grant muttered, genuinely confused.

“Boobs,” Jillian groaned.

“Boobs and backpacks,” Melody added.

“Boobs, backpacks, and lots of anxious muscle tension,” Hannah said with a sigh.

“Hear, hear.” Jillian pointed finger guns towards Hannah, who returned the gesture in kind.

“I think we all need a shower after that. Roman baths just didn’t cut it,” Melody said with a sigh.

“It’s too exposed,” Hannah agreed.

“Oh-ho, I beg to disagree,” Joseph said dreamily. “I’ve never had a better eye candy experience in my life.”

Jillian broke out into amused giggles while Hannah rolled her eyes, patting his shoulder as she spoke. “Joseph, you are a paragon of thirst.”

“Can you really blame me? I don’t know why all of history is suddenly filled with really gorgeous people, but I’m not complaining,” he said with a shrug, obviously unoffended.

After another round of gentle teasing, the five Masters made their separate ways to their rooms. Raikou, unsurprisingly, was already waiting for Jillian at the door.

“Oh, look at you!” she cried, brow furrowing in concern. “You’re all bruised! Don’t worry, Mama Raikou already drew you a nice bath, and after that we can get you all patched up.”

“Thanks, Raikou.” Jillian smiled and hugged her, feeling relieved already, though the stiffness seemed to be getting worse.

Once inside her bathroom, she peeled away the dirty uniform layers and tossed them unceremoniously into the laundry, grabbing a clean, white towel from the shelf. A quick glance at her reflection confirmed what Raikou already said— her arms were cut and scraped, and her back and hips were a mass of mottled bruises. There were dark circles under her eyes, and her hands visibly shook as she removed her gloves.

Well, at least there was a bath ready, complete with bubbles and some kind of scented soap.

Scared of sinking down too quickly while she was so stiff, Jillian dipped her feet into the water and let the heat sink into her bones, soothing some of the ache in her muscles. Everything felt cold and on fire at once, like a fever and an adrenaline rush and a cold shock, tingling and numb and hypersensitive. The pounding in her head felt so intrusive that she didn’t even notice at first when someone started knocking on the door.

Wait, someone was knocking on the _bathroom_ door?”

“Um… yes?”

“I’m coming in.”

Shit.

She had just enough time to grab a towel and attempt cover herself before the door opened, and Cu Chulainn stepped in, already looking exasperated. His eyes ran over the towel, the hot water, and the bruises without coming any closer, all while Jillian stared, too shocked to speak at first.

“Wh—what are you doing?”

“I told you that you’d get hurt.” He started to take a step closer, but Jillian held out an arm to stop him.

“Nope. Stay back! Why are you here anyways?!”

“I thought you might be stiff after that stunt you pulled, so… if you needed help…” he trailed off, but suddenly his expression turned mischievous. “Of course, I am fond of what you’re wearing right now.”

“Wha… you… _OUT_! Get out!” Jillian spluttered, tightening her hold on the towel even as it felt like her entire body flushed with embarrassment.

“No can do, Master.”

Instead of leaving, he moved closer, brushing her arm aside and kneeling down beside where she sat as his fingers traced over the bruises on her back with a feather-light touch. Her skin felt warm where he touched, but she couldn’t rid herself of the tension in her body, fighting back a shiver that might have been from the cold and might have been from something else.

Alright, it was _definitely_ from something else.

“You overloaded your magic circuits, just like I warned you not to do,” he said, his tone clipped and red eyes narrowed.

“Sorry,” she murmured, focusing her eyes on the ripples in the bath water.

“I’m not a person who can lecture about knowing your limits—”

“I heard you used your intestines as a rope once,” Jillian deadpanned. Melody, resident historian and current avid reader of anything and everything on mythology and legend, updated her on Cu’s history after the summoning. It was fascinating and terrifying all at once.

“You heard right,” he said with a chuckle, “but I worked up to that point. Dying in battle is all well and good, but dying because you taxed yourself to the breaking point is just stupid.”

“Hey!” Jillian grumbled.

“I call ‘em like I see ‘em,” he said with a shrug, still running his hands over her back. What seemed like a random assessment of her wounds now felt a little more like drawing patterns, but when she turned to ask about it, she herself staring directly at his red eyes, unable to speak.

“Yes?”

“N—nothing,” she stuttered, turning back to the bath, thankful that the steam helped to disguise the very obvious flush on her skin. At least, it felt obvious to _her_. Cu didn’t comment, though, continuing his gentle ministrations until Jillian thought about asking if she could move or needed to stay still… but he finally backed away.

“There. That should help,” he said standing.

“What did you _do_?” Jillian straightened up a little, moving her arms experimentally. They were still sore, but it didn’t feel like her joints had rusted over any more.

“You know rune magic qualifies me for Caster class. I can still use it in Lancer form,” he said with a shrug. “I just unblocked your circuits a little. Emiya probably could have done it a little faster, but you don’t need to go to him for something I can do…”

He sounded a little like he was grumbling again, but Jillian was just grateful to be able to move.

“Thanks, Cu,” she said with a smile.

“You’re welcome. Now, let’s get you in the bath.” The mischievous smile returned as he reached out to place his hands on her bare shoulders, but she swatted him away frantically.

“Nope—nope, you’re leaving!”

“You’re not going to be able to get out of that by yourself,” he pointed out. Unfortunately, Jillian knew he was right.

“Then get Raikou!”

“I told her I had it under control. It’s lucky she likes me, don’t you think?” He reached towards her again, but again she swatted him away.

“You’re not staying.”

“You can’t make me leave in the state you’re in.”

“I have command seals.”

“Are you _really_ going to use one to make me leave?” Cu snorted in amusement, calling her bluff. Jillian huffed, looking back and forth between Cu and the bath water.

“If you stay, the towel stays,” she finally said.

“You’re no fun.”

* * *

 

_Master uniform sketches provided by[impossiblemart](https://impossiblemart.tumblr.com)_


	5. In Which Jillian Scrambles Her Circuits

_ Suggested Listening: Say by John Mayer _

* * *

 

**The Missing Year: Week 9, Day 7**

The next morning, Jillian felt like her entire body was coated in rust.

None of her muscles would respond to her movements. It felt like throwing her back out, but thirty times worse, and spreading over her entire body. It felt like there was a knife in her forehead and ice in her veins, like the flu and muscles stretched too far all at once. It took all of her willpower to reach the comms bracelet on her nightstand to call for help, the slight motion leaving her panting with exertion, her arm shaking from that slight motion.

“Can… can someone…” she managed to call out, but the rest was lost in a groan of pain.

“ _ Jillian? _ ” Joseph’s voice came through the bracelet. “ _ Are you okay? _ ”

“No…” She managed to get that out, but no more.

“ _ We’re coming. Hang on _ .”

Thankfully, it didn’t take them long to get there, and Joseph had Cu in tow when he can through the door. The Lancer shook his head sadly, disappointment evident on his face as he walked closer.

“So, next time I tell you not to push yourself, are ya gonna listen?” Cu asked, taking a seat on the edge of her bed.

“… Yes,” Jillian groaned, unable to summon the strength to even glare at him. Was this what people felt when they said they’d been run over by a truck? Or maybe smashed into a wall by a wrecking ball. “I hate to think what this would be like if you  _ hadn’t _ helped me earlier.”

“Yeah, well… I don’t want to know,” Cu muttered, reaching out to place a hand on her arm.

“What happened?” Joseph asked in horror. “He said something about your magic circuits?”

“She overloaded them,” he explained, glancing over at the other Master. “Pushed too much mana through them before they were ready, and now she’s dealing with the repercussions. Think of it like a muscle cramp from lifting more weight than you can hold and then not stretching, and multiply that by about 50.”

“It fucking sucks,” Jillian muttered. Joseph looked sympathetic, but Cu just sighed.

“It will take days for this to straighten itself out, at this rate, so let’s hope you didn’t have any plans.”

“Yeah. Big plans. Gotta count the tiles on the ceiling,” Jillian said with a laugh, but it turned out that laughing hurt, too, and it trailed off into a groan. Was she really going to be stuck like this for  _ days _ ? She couldn’t even  _ move _ !

“Melody said she was going to get help, if that’s comforting,” Joseph offered. “She dragged Hannah with her somewhere, and sent Grant off to the medical ward with Roman.”

It  _ was _ kind of comforting. If Melody knew anything, it was her research, and she’d researched the shit out of all the servant logs. If there was someone here who could do something to help the situation, Melody would probably have a decent idea who it was.

“She better not be bringing who I think she’s bringing,” Cu grumbled.

“Look, I know nothing.” Holding up his hands defensively, Joseph dragged the desk chair over beside the bed and took a seat. Jillian just tried to focus on breathing in a way that didn’t feel like there was a knife in her ribcage. It didn’t work particularly well. At this point, she didn’t care who they dragged here. It had only been a few minutes and she already felt trapped in her own body by her pain. It was an oddly claustrophobic feeling, and she wondered if this was how people who had sleep paralysis felt upon waking… but probably not. Didn’t that have something to do with a weight on your chest?

Only a few scant minutes later, though it felt like hours to Jillian, a series of clattering footsteps came from the hallway. She couldn’t see the doorway very well, but once the steps came closer, she could see Melody leaning over the bed out of the corner of her eye.

“Hey, I brought someone who I think can help you,” she said, glancing behind her. “Come on, come on.”

Hannah followed Melody into the room, and familiar figure in a red cloak appeared behind her in the doorway. Cu immediately tensed, his grip on Jillian’s arm tightening just a little.

“Did you  _ really _ have to bring  _ him _ ?”

“Quiet down, Hound of Chulainn,” Emiya said, exasperated. “I’m here to help.”

“He was a mage in life,” Melody explained.

“I once flooded my own magic circuits when they had been dormant for years. I completely lost the use of my arm. Your situation is similar— from what Melody told me, you overloaded your circuits with more mana than they were ready to handle. They weren’t exactly dormant, but they weren’t ready for all the power you pushed through them.” He stepped a little closer, and Cu more literally than metaphorically bared his fangs, scowling.

“Don’t touch her.”

“I need to in order to help her,” Emiya said coolly. “Or will you let your useless pride stand in the way of helping your Master?”

Cu’s eyes narrowed in a way that Jillian could tell was not good, but she couldn’t formulate a response to stop them. Talking felt like trying to swim through Jell-O. The only thing that kept her anchored to reality was Cu’s hand on her arm, his grip almost painfully tight, but at least it was a pain that was different from the rest of the pins and needles in her limbs.

“That’s  _ enough.  _ Are you Heroic Spirits or children?” Melody snapped. Cu actually flinched, while Emiya’s eyes went wide. Neither of them had ever heard Melody raise her voice.

“Cu, step back. Emiya, stop provoking him or I’ll use a command spell to  _ make _ you stop,” Hannah said firmly, glaring. The Archer blanched, and Cu snickered, but one glare from Melody made him go quiet.

“Make. Room. Cu.” Melody said through gritted teeth. “Don’t think I won’t move you myself.”

“Okay, okay.” He backed away sheepishly, hands in the air in surrender, though his red eyes remained trained on Jillian. It made her feel a little shy to have him watch her so intensely, but it wasn’t as though there was anything she could do about it.

Emiya came closer. He looked a little scary as he concentrated, but his touch was gentle as he placed his hands on her shoulders. “This will hurt.”

Jillian barely managed to nod. She didn’t think it was possible for anything to hurt more than it hurt right now, and she didn’t think she could handle it if this went on. He had to do what he had to do.

Emiya released his magic, and Jillian let out an involuntary scream.

When he said it would hurt, she thought he meant something more like a sting, or a shot, or popping a dislocated joint back in place. This was more like being thrown into a brick wall, shocked with a taser, and doused in a bathtub full of ice water all at once, over her entire body. Thankfully, it was over quickly, leaving her shaking and gasping as the shivering sensation faded back into her normal body temperature. She tried to move her fingers just the tiniest bit, the smallest possible motion, just in case it didn’t work, but found that they did respond to her.

“Thanks, Emiya,” she croaked out, voice hoarse.

“Note to self: never overload magic circuits,” Hannah said, wide-eyed with terror.

“I would highly prefer not to have to do that to anyone else,” Emiya agreed, backing away from the bed. “You should stay here for the rest of the day. Your circuits are realigned, but you’ll need to take it easy for a while in order not to damage them again. You all should leave now, as well. Your concern for your friend is admirable, but she needs to sleep.”

The Masters reluctantly followed Emiya as he left the room, though Melody hesitated at the door, her eyes sliding between Cu and Jillian for a moment.

“I should go find Roman and Grant. Tell them everything’s okay,” she mumbled, but it seemed to be half to herself. She then turned back to Jillian, speaking a little louder. “I’ll bring you lunch later, okay?”

“Okay. Thanks, M.”

There was no point in arguing with that tone, especially when Emiya had only just ordered her on bedrest. Melody was just as bad at taking no for an answer as Jillian, and worse in some situations. With a smile, her friend slowly closed the door behind her, leaving Cu… still there?

“Aren’t you going to go?” she asked, glancing up at him.

“Nope,” Cu said, sliding further onto the bed and leaning against the headboard, like he planned on settling in for a long time yet.

“Uh…  _ Why _ ?”

“Gotta make sure my Master actually follows orders. Can’t have you up and running around when you should be resting.”

“So you’re just gonna sit here in silence?” Jillian raised an eyebrow, thinking she’d been in for a very awkward day.

“Hey, nobody said we had to do that.” He crossed his legs at the ankles and looked down at her. “You probably know my legend already. Only fair I hear yours.”

Jillian snorted, shaking her head— oh,  _ bless _ Emiya for allowing her to use her neck once again.

“I don’t have a legend. You should know that already.”

“Ya might one day. So tell me. What did you do before you came here?” Arms behind his head, Cu closed his eyes like he was settling in for a nap, but Jillian was fairly certain he wouldn’t fall asleep.

“I don’t really know,” she said glumly, but then paused. “Wait. No. That sounded stupid. I just graduated from college, and I haven’t really figured out what I want to do with my life. Melody was my roommate, and we just… wanted a job for the summer.”

Cu cracked open one eye, looking down at her skeptically.

“You’re working for a top-secret Mage organization and using your powers to save the world because you wanted a summer job?”

“Essentially? Yeah.”

He took a long, slow breath, nodding slowly. “Well, that’s original. I’ll give you that.”

Over the next few hours, while Jillian slowly and systematically tested each one of her limbs and slowly worked each one of her muscles out from its previously frozen state, she told the story of how she’d found her way to Chaldea— the Master recruitment, the moving in, the explosives. Cu didn’t offer any of his own story in return, probably because he thought she was fairly aware of it already. It didn’t bother her, though. It was kind of nice to get it all off her chest.

And, in reality, she should probably know his legend more than she did. Melody gave her a book after she’d summoned him, but it was just sitting in her nightstand drawer, mostly untouched. She’d read a little about his childhood, about his birth, and the dog… but no farther. However, every time she tried to read it, something felt  _ wrong _ , a murky sensation in her chest that she couldn’t shove away. Oh, well. She’d get to it eventually, and wasn’t having the hero in front of you better than reading the legend, anyways?

* * *

 

**The Missing Year: Week 10, Day 7**

It wasn’t exactly intentional when they first started the photo boards.

Even though Chaldea was cut off from the outside world, the Masters still had their cell phones, and the self-sufficient energy system meant that they could keep them charged if they wanted. They couldn’t use data or call anyone, but they could listen to music (unless you were Melody, who used an MP3 player with a ridiculous amount of storage), play games, and they could absolutely take pictures.

It started with Hannah taking pictures of Fou. The little guy seemed to take a liking to her, including sleeping in her room sometimes, and she couldn’t resist taking pictures of him at every possible second. Every now and then she would show an especially cute one, until finally Joseph jokingly suggested that they should have a wall of Fou photos to help lift morale.

Things spiraled from there.

It was fairly easy to hunt down a printer and some USB cords— after all, the nature of Chaldea’s isolated location meant that it was stocked with just about anything they could ever want. From there it was just a matter of putting together the photo boards.

The first one was, naturally, a board full of Fou photos. Between Hannah’s existing stock and providing Mash with a scrounged camera from storage (they really did keep  _ everything _ there), they had a large collection of portraits of Chaldea’s most beloved animal. There was also a saga to the left side of the wall dedicated to how many socks Joseph (or anyone else who wanted to try, but it was usually him) could pile on the little animal before he woke up from his nap. The running record was 46.

They still weren’t quite sure where he got the socks.

They also quickly established a cryptid board, partly because Mash was only just attempting to learn to use a camera, and many of her photos were blurry. However, it also quickly became dedicated to “SPOT THE CRYPTID” shots of Siegfried’s dragon claws and swords, blurry photos of Emiya mid-sparring match, and any other shadowy pictures with bad lighting. This wall also featured a constantly-growing collection of sticky notes or index cards taped near the photos, featuring guesses or descriptions of the subjects.

The most recent addition was simply the selfie wall, where servants or Masters took selfies that ranged from fantastic to utterly terrible and posted them for all to see. Grant joked that it was like Chaldea’s version of Instagram, and made it a point to go around and have the servants take some photos themselves to put up. Granted, it took a while for some of them to get the hang of the camera, but that just meant more shots for the cryptid wall.

“Hey, got another selfie for ya!” Jillian called, waving a piece of paper in the air. Today was their one day off each week, probably not really a Sunday but  _ some _ day that was equivalent, which meant it was time to update the boards. The Masters ran around pinning up photos and rearranging others while most of the servants wandered or found other ways to amuse themselves. She walked over to where Melody was standing on tiptoe, pushing another pin into the wall at a blank spot on the board. It had only been a month or so since they were up, but the designated “boards” were already far too full and expanding to fill other parts of the wall.

“We should set up a wall for pictures when we go out to singularities,” Melody suggested, stepping back to take in the view of the board.

“That’s a good idea, actually,” Hannah said as she walked up, a pile of photos in hand. “I’ve got a few that I took in Rome and France because, like, when are you ever gonna get the chance to see something like  _ that _ again?”

Jillian mimed a fake mustache with one finger, hiking her shoulders and arching her back in a terrible impression of a cranky old man. “You millennials and your selfies!”

“The selfie is an excellent documentation tool,” Hannah said, laughing as Jillian straightened up and pinned her photo on the wall.

“Gotta have a little sunshine in here,” Melody said, nodding in agreement.

The photo walls, while arguably one of the strangest and most niche waste of resources, were one of the best things that they could have done for morale. Documenting their adventures helped them to feel like the days weren’t passing blindly, like even if they were stuck here, the world did still keep moving in whatever kind of strange way that it could. It made it seem like their lives still had a purpose and a flow outside saving the world, and even outside their normal lives away from Chaldea… whatever “normal” meant, anymore.

“Okay, let’s move on to the cryptid board!” Jillian declared, holding up the box of push pins like a trophy as she marched off towards a different hallway.

“I think the singularity snapshots should go on the big wall outside the cafeteria. You know, so we can see them a lot,” Melody mused, scrambling to catch up with Jillian and Hannah’s longer strides.

“Agreed. I’ll print the pictures later and hang them tonight.” Hannah nodded, boots clicking against the floors as they walked. “I think Roman said he was close to finding the next spot, so we should make sure we actually take something to grab pictures with.”

“There were a few more cameras in storage where we found the one for Mash,” Jillian suggested. It would be fairly easy to go back and find them, and probably better than carrying around their phones for the sole purpose of being cameras. “I’ll snag them when we go get the last couple of things for the guys’ uniform upgrades.”

“Joseph picking a tailcoat was the best decision he could have made,” Melody said approvingly. “He’ll look like classy Gandalf with the long coat and the staff. Grant looks kind of like a cross between a butler and an eighteenth century French courtier, but it’ll work. He’s not the most original, bless him, and I think he was afraid of causing trouble.”

Jillian couldn’t help but sigh. Grant was sweet, but he did seem to think he was stepping on people’s toes if he asked for something. Thankfully, now that the uniforms had been made once, they would be fairly easy to patch and replicate for later missions, and they only  _ really _ needed them out in the field. During the day, they could wear normal clothing, though none of them had packed much, so that was yet another design project to start working on. At another time, they might have complained, but their free time was very much limited to whatever they could find here, so creating several identical uniforms and designing some new pieces of clothing was a good way to pass the time.

“I’ll go pick up some things to restock the belts while you guys finish up those.” Hannah reached over and grabbed a couple of push pins from the box in Jillian’s hand, walking straight over to the wall and starting to pin up a series of photos.

“Sounds good. Let’s hope this next location isn’t quite as full of murderous armies as the last two have been,” Jillian said with a sigh.

It was probably a futile hope, but well… she could dream.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this chapter was a bit on the short side, but the next one will be longer to make up for it. Promise. A couple of updates:
> 
> 1\. As you've probably noticed if you're still reading (in which case, wow, thanks!), my updates have slowed to once per week. This is just how it worked out best with my schoolwork, and...  
> 2\. It works better for the two extra chapters I've added. Did I expect this? Nope. But I decided to add in two more and they're still in the process of being written, so I'm essentially stalling for time while I type.


	6. In Which it is Too Hot (Hot Damn)

_Suggested Listening: Knee Deep by the Zac Brown Band_

_Diegetic Listening: Scarborough Fair by Simon and Garfunkel_

* * *

 

**The Missing Year: Week 11, Day 2**

**Singularity: Okeanos, Day 1**

When Dr. Roman said they were headed to Okeanos, this was not what Grant expected. Though Roman was definitely right that landing on a boat was much better than landing in the ocean, he wouldn’t put “essentially kidnapped by pirates” on the list of best circumstances they could have run into. As they finally embarked on Pirate Island, the group of Masters and servants stepped onto the sand with a mix of excitement and trepidation.

Well, all except Melody, who just looked sick. Jeanne supported her shoulders with one arm as she shakily made her way down the gangplank, stomach already emptied twice just on the journey to the island.

“I… I hate boats…” she muttered, looking positively green.

“ _This_ is going to be an interesting singularity,” Joseph said with a sigh, glancing over at Melody.

“For someone who seems so well-prepared, I’m not sure she bargained for this…” Grant said softly, shaking his head.

“Senpai…” Mash whispered, looking warily around at the pirates.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I do think we need to keep our guard up. Is someone keeping an eye on Melody?”

“I got it,” Joseph said with a nod.

“Good. I’m worried how she’ll fare. Are you feeling alright?” Mash looked expectantly at Grant, placing a hand on his shoulder hesitantly.

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me— take care of yourself.” Grant smiled sheepishly as they walked across the beach and towards a path leading through the woods.

“It’s my job to keep you safe, Senpai,” Mash said with a smile. “I want to do all I can.”

Grant suddenly felt a slight heat in his cheeks, but he ignored it as they kept moving forward, keeping pace with the group of pirates.

“You’re doing amazing, Mash,” he said sincerely, reaching out for her hand. He thought that she might pull away after a few paces, but she kept hold as they marched on through the forest. That was just fine, though. The warm weight of her hand in his was grounding and comforting, something familiar in the middle of incredible chaos. Even traversing a strange island looking for a way to save the world, he felt like things would be alright if they stayed together.

“So, what’s this about the Captain?” Joseph asked, dragging Grant from his thoughts.

“Sir Francis Drake was a ruthless privateer known for circumnavigating the world in one trip,” Mash said, swinging their joined hands a little as they walked. “He was even knighted by Queen Elizabeth.”

“I thought he was a pirate?” Grant looked over, puzzled.

“Senpai, privateering was legal piracy for a monarch,” Mash pointed out gently.

“So he _was_ a pirate. Just a legal one…” He sighed, running his free hand through his blonde hair. “This seriously makes me wish I’d studied more in my history classes. Maybe then I’d know what to expect.”

However, when they made it to the camp, the captain was not what _any_ of them expected.

“ _That’s_ Captain Drake?” Grant hissed, eyes wide as he stared at the busty, pink-haired pirate queen barking orders at the sailors. A scar ran down one side of her face, and she appeared to be in good physical shape— life at sea, even as a Captain, made for a strong body. Joseph looked both scared and impressed as he nodded slowly, eyes sweeping over the crowd as they immediately and swiftly carried out her orders.

“That’s _got_ to be the Captain.”

“ _Step on me, senpai_ ,” Jillian said under her breath. Hannah nodded in agreement, apparently stunned speechless. However, Drake immediately seemed to hone in on Melody, who still looked two seconds from collapsing face-first into the sand.

“The little one looks like she doesn’t have her sea legs,” Drake said, brow furrowed in concern. She took a hunk of bread from the table and pressed it into Melody’s hands, guiding her over to a seat at a large table. Grant watched, surprised at how she could change so quickly between “ruthless pirate queen” and “caring older sister.” Then again, something told him she’d also be the kind of older sister who would help you sneak out after curfew…

“Sit there. Eat this. You’ll feel better soon.” Drake left the table after patting Melody’s back gently, returning to the other Masters.

“So, what’s this my men are saying about a grail?”

* * *

 

**Singularity: Okeanos, Day 4**

It didn’t take too long to explain the grail and the singularity. What took much longer was dealing with Blackbeard, who against all odds was an incredible pervert, handling the minotaur and his tiny girlfriend, and running into Medea and Jason. They’d been on the seas for days now, traveling from island to island, and while Hannah thought she could probably continue traveling like this for a long time, the anxiety of trying to stay one step ahead of Medea and Jason was starting to grate on them all.

Currently, they’d landed on yet another island in search of the Arc of the Covenant, though Hannah didn’t quite understand why the Arc was suddenly a big and important thing amongst… Greeks… who didn’t even worship the deity that the Arc was usually associated with. Melody, bless her, tried her best to explain the history and legends surrounding the Arc while en route to the island they were currently rowing out to, but she still hadn’t managed to get her sea legs and was in a near-constant cycle of either sleeping or being sick while on the ship.

At least she’d get a reprieve, now, even if it meant scouring an island for a strange object.

“It’s too hot,” Joseph said, fanning himself as they stepped off the rowboat.

“Hot damn!” Jillian and Hannah said at once, pointing finger guns at each other. Joseph rolled his eyes as he removed his coat, leaving him in a short-sleeved shirt and long pants.

“Bruno Mars will be with us forever,” Melody said a little groggily. She hauled herself over the side of the boat, boots splashing in the surf, and stumbled up onto the beach.

“It won’t be hot for long,” Drake said, pointing towards the jungle. “Plenty of shade where we’re headed.”

Ugh, jungle. Not the most preferable environment, but it was arguably better than a barren, sun-bleached beach. _Definitely_ better than a desert. Oh, how she hoped they never had to go somewhere in the middle of a desert…

“We should probably split up so we can cover the island faster. We can use this as a campsite and meet up here after we find it,” Hannah suggested. The others nodded in agreement. Da Vinci’s communicators hadn’t really been put to the test until now, but they’d never be able to cover the entire island if they searched as a large group, especially because they were only moderately certain what they were looking for.

“Right. The usual teams, then?” Grant asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Moving in teams of one Master and two servants would be most efficient,” Waver said. “The Captain can go with Hannah’s team to balance the numbers.”

“Fine by me,” Drake said with a shrug, wrapping her arm around Hannah’s shoulders casually. “Let’s get going. We’ll meet back here at nightfall if no one finds anything.”

Gilgamesh didn’t look particularly fond of this arrangement, but there was nothing he could do about it. Siegfried was even less fond of boats than Melody, so she’d elected to leave him out of this as much as possible. Another team member would be helpful… especially a strong pirate queen who could probably crush her between her fingers.

Hannah snuck a glance over at Drake, who responded with a rakish wink.

 _Hot damn_ , indeed.

“Come along, if you’re coming,” Gilgamesh snapped. Hannah winced, embarrassed to be caught staring and also a little annoyed that Gil suddenly seemed like he felt deprived of attention. For a king, he was certainly a needy bastard… or maybe that was why he was a needy bastard. In any case, at least he’d stopped calling her “mongrel” for the time being. Now he only did it when he was particularly annoyed.

“Any idea what’s out here or what we’re looking for?” Hannah asked, looking towards Gil. He should have a decent idea what the Arc looked like and what it actually did, considering his massive treasury might have contained it at some point. For her part, all Hannah’s knowledge came from incessant repeat viewings of _Indiana Jones_ , and the only real idea she had of what to do with it when they found it was to _not open it_.

“For lack of a better description, it is a large, golden box. Though, I doubt there is more than one item on this godforsaken island that fits that description,” Gilgamesh said calmly, glancing around the forest as Drake cut a path forward through the leaves.

“Can’t be quite godforsaken if the Arc of the Covenant is here,” Hannah muttered, brushing a huge leaf out of her face as she slogged along behind Drake.

Gilgamesh cut a glare in her direction for a moment before going back to his survey of the area, no doubt keeping his eyes out for any enemies. “Perhaps that’s why whoever left it put it here.”

“That is a… very spooky, yet entirely valid point,” Hannah said with a firm nod. “I’m going to try _very_ hard not to think about that. Thanks, Gil.”

The King of Heroes made a sound that was a combination of a laugh and a scoff, an amused grin playing across his lips. In front of them, Drake pulled out a spyglass, peering forward for a long moment. Hannah didn’t quite understand how she could see anything at all among the dense trees and leafy ferns, but maybe it was some kind of lesser noble phantasm, or maybe just dumb luck. It was amazing how often you disregarded the power of plain dumb luck when you worked with mages all day long.

“Your Majesty, with all due respect, you should get ready to fight,” Drake said, closing the spyglass with a click and pulling her pistols from her holsters with a dramatic flourish. “We’ve got incoming.”

“I already noticed them. They’ve just entered my range,” Gilgamesh said, raising his hand. Hannah was unable to describe his tone as anything besides “bored.” Golden light flashed through the air as a chorus of swords and spears flew forward with deadly accuracy. Hannah couldn’t see the creatures, but she heard their cries as Gil’s weapons hit their marks. Drake let out a low whistle, looking through the spyglass once again to survey the carnage.

“And your class is Archer, right?” she asked, raising an eyebrow as she looked back and forth between Hannah and Gilgamesh.

“Yes.”

“You fire… treasures?”

“Yes.”

Hannah wasn’t sure if the confused expression on Drake’s face had to do with the treasures themselves, the Gate of Babylon, or something different, so she just took a guess. She shrugged helplessly, pushing aside another fern as she continued to plot out the path through the forest.

“Archer is a… _broad_ label.”

* * *

 

This was not going well.

Melody, Jeanne, and Waver worked their way through the dense island forest, doing their best to avoid any enemies, but it felt like all they were doing was getting themselves lost. It was a good thing Waver had an impeccable sense of direction, Melody thought, because otherwise she’d never find her way out.

“Okay, why are there Greeks all over these islands? I mean, Stheno? Asterios?” she asked, brushing aside another bush. “I know there are lots of islands in Greek myths, but who else is hiding in the bushes? Achilles? Hercu— ahhh!”

An arrow zoomed by her face with a crack and she jumped back, staring at the spot where it had embedded itself in a tree close by her. Jeanne immediately stepped in front of her, but while Melody’s eyes were on the arrow above her head, the Ruler picked up a broken arrow shaft from the ground.

“It appears we have an ally,” she said quietly. “Show yourself!”

As expected, there was no movement, but the ensuing quiet made her jumpy.

“We should keep moving. We’re targets now,” Waver said, ushering her along.

“You’re saying someone shot that arrow out of the sky?” Melody asked in disbelief, turning towards Jeanne as they continued moving through the brush. “How is that— _shit_!” She jumped to the side as a second arrow came flying, another broken arrow falling to the ground.

“It came from that direction. Let’s go,” Jeanne said quickly.

“You want to go _towards_ the person shooting at us?”

“Master, use your head,” Waver snapped. “And preferably keep it down while you do. Move!”

“Fuck, fuck, _fuck_ , aren’t you supposed to run in zigzags to avoid arrows or something?” Melody muttered, dodging trees in random patterns as arrows flew past her shoulders, some embedding in trees and others falling to the ground in broken pieces.

“That’s correct, now _shush_  and keep moving!” Waver said from behind, obviously slowing his pace to make sure she wasn’t left alone. Between Jeanne’s supernatural speed and Waver’s long legs, there was no way she would normally be able to keep up.

“I see our ally. Master, boost!” Jeanne said, skidding to a stop and bracing her flag.

“Okay!”

Still sprinting forward into the dense trees, Melody jumped as high as she could, feet landing on Jeanne’s horizontal flag pole. With one upward push she was in the trees, letting out a shriek as she scrambled to grab for a branch. Thankfully, she managed to hold on, dangling in the air by one arm.

“Give me your hand.”

Melody grabbed out for whoever it was reaching down without thinking. After all, they were kind of her only hope at this point. She’d fall if she wasn’t careful. However, their ally had a strong grip, pulling her up with ease to sit atop the branch she’d just been dangling from.

“Thanks. And thanks for your help with the arrows,” she said, looking over to see who exactly had been helping them.

Perched on a branch slightly above where Melody rested sat a man with tanned skin, long, sandy brown hair, and piercing blue eyes that made her heart skip a beat. She actually floundered for a moment under his gaze, slightly embarrassed despite his kind smile, or maybe the smile made her _more_ embarrassed. His sleeveless tunic and sandals marked him as yet another Greek, and he held a gigantic bow in his free hand.

 _So… another Greek_ , she thought. _Another Greek with really incredible arms?! Maybe I should take up the bow and arrow…_

“You’re welcome. Your friends sound like they’re struggling a little,” the archer said, glancing down.

“Careful, Waver!” Jeanne called from below. There was only a grumbling sound in response.

Melody looked down to see Jeanne offering Waver a hand, helping him scramble from branch to branch. For all his mental prowess, he wasn’t in the best of physical shape. Once they made their way up the tree, Jeanne waved hello to their newest ally.

“Ah, Chiron. It’s good to see you,” she said with a nod. “Thank you for your support.”

“And you as well, Holy Maiden.”

The archer smiled softly, and Melody looked back and forth between them for a moment, wondering if they knew each other from somewhere, or if it was just the grail giving them knowledge. Possibly both. However, a moment later something clicked in her head. She took in his appearance once more, eyes trailing downwards to where his feet dangled from the tree branch.

Feet. _Legs_.

And then she noticed that what she had presumed to be incredibly long hair before was not _quite_ that long. His hair ended halfway down his back, and what dangled past the tree branch appeared to be a _tail_.

“You’re Chiron?! Like… like _that_ Chiron?” Melody asked, eyes wide. “Why are you _here_ — No, wait, don’t answer that, and don’t look at me like that, Waver. I know we’re on Centaur Island. In a singularity. With Greeks. Why are you in a tree? Why are you… not… a centaur?”

_Is that a polite thing to ask a person? Oh my god, Melody, you can’t just ask people why they’re not centaurs!_

“I find human form to be more advantageous on this island. I couldn’t tell if you were friend or foe, so I decided to wait until I could be certain to make myself known,” he said calmly, shouldering his bow. “Now, what are you doing here?”

Melody briefly explained the situation, including pirate queen, grail, second grail, and the fact that there were four other Masters on the island all looking for the Arc of the Covenant.

“You’re fighting your way through the island with a saint and a strategist?” Chiron raised his eyebrows, obviously skeptical.

“I’m kind of shaping up as the team support specialist,” Melody said with a shrug. “Normally it’s not an issue when we split up, but the centaurs are giving Waver a run for his money, and Jeanne is at a disadvantage in the forest. She’s better on fields.”

Waver mumbled something under his breath, but one glare from Melody shut him up. They both knew he was struggling, no matter how much he didn’t want to admit it. Jeanne simply nodded helplessly. She knew they were struggling. Chiron nodded slowly and held out his hand to Melody.

“It seems as though you could use some assistance. I will form a temporary contract with you, if you like.”

“Yes, please,” Melody said, nodding as she gently placed her hand over his. “It would be helpful to have someone who knows the island.” Her command seals glowed brightly just as the comms flared to life with a message.

“ _Hey, guys, Mash and I found it_!” Grant’s voice came through on her bracelet, the gem radiating a soft light as he spoke. “ _Well, sort of. We found David, which is basically the same thing. Long story._ _You can come back to camp now, and we can talk strategy_.”

“Roger that. We’re bringing company,” Melody said. She gave Chiron’s hand a slight squeeze before removing hers and looking down, trying to figure out how best to get out of the tree. However, she paused for a moment when Grant’s words sank in. “Wait. Why is _David_ here with the _Greeks_ ?! Like slingshot David? ‘ _And Goliath_ ’ David?”

“Look, I just wouldn’t question it at this point.”

Fair point.

“ _We found company, too_.” It sounded like Jillian. Well, at least they weren’t the only ones who located unexpected company.

Melody went quiet, trying to think over their tracks, pointing one way and then the other.

“Does… does anyone remember how to get back to the beach?”

* * *

 

Out of the possible things Jillian had prepared for on this trip, “magic big foot” absolutely hadn’t made the list. The creatures in the forest were massive and hairy, more like hulking shadows with teeth and glowing red eyes than any recognizable animal. Pirates were fine. After all, they were in Okeanos. She could even get behind this whole “here come the Greeks,” because wasn’t the Trojan War mostly fought at sea?

… Or was that something else?

Jillian screeched as she dodged one of the creatures, tucking and rolling out of the way. Raikou was the only one who didn’t seem to be struggling to deal damage, but though her attacks could take out several of the creatures at once, she was already wounded. They really needed to work on her dodging skills after they made it back to Chaldea…

“Raikou, down!” Jillian called, throwing a knife over her servant’s head that embedded itself between the eyes of one of the mid-sized, furry enemies.

“Thank you, dear!” Raikou called, sending out another burst of lightning.

“Oh, so I guess Emiya taught you that, too, did he?” Cu said, rolling his eyes. Jillian yanked back the throwing knife by the thread wrapped around her palm.

“What is your _problem_ ?” she asked with a groan. “I’m doing my best, okay? I can’t get better any faster than this. I’m _trying_!” Jillian sent another knife flying as Cu speared one of the creatures. She tried to ignore the sight of the hulking, still form before it began to fade away into a wash of golden light. One down, countless more to go.

“I just don’t like you hanging around Emiya, okay?!”

“Why? What’s wrong with him? He’s helping me!”

“Can we have this discussion _after_ we finish the battle?”

“No!” Jillian said indignantly, sending three thread birds out to tear away at one of the enemy creatures with their beaks. “We can’t, because it’s clearly bothering you— _shit_!”

She cried out as one of the creatures crept up from behind, claws tearing through the fabric of her uniform and into the flesh of her shoulder, leaving bloody streaks down her side. She whirled around, but it wasn’t fast enough to recover before it lashed out again. She scrambled away as a blue blur flashed before her eyes, knocking her out of the way in the same motion that he attacked.

Cu let out of war cry as he spun his spear, taking down two of the creatures in one violent motion. Jillian jumped, eyes going wide. She wondered if his frustration had anything to do with his current state of battle frenzy, but could never be a hundred percent sure. Chest heaving, Cu stalked back over to Jillian, putting his hand under her chin and leaning in close to look directly in her eyes, red eyes narrowed in concentration, frustration, or both. Her whole body felt tense, and she wondered briefly if this was what it felt like to be the prey at the other end of his spear.

“You’re _my_ Master, alright?” he finally said. “Not his. Remember that. And pay attention to your surroundings! You’re gonna get yourself killed.”

He dropped his hand only a moment later, turning away from her. For a second, it seemed like he was headed back into the jungle to continue carving a path

“Children, we have enemies incoming from the north!” Raikou said, her singsong tone and smiling face a complete contrast to the deadly lightning sparking at her fingertips. A cold chill shot through Jillian. At this rate, they’d be surrounded. It would take hours to get back to the beach. Climbing trees would be utterly ineffective— these things looked half chimp and could probably follow them with ease. If they kept coming in endless waves, they’d be screwed. They needed backup, but she had no idea where the other Masters and their teams were.

She was about to call for backup on the comms when a shadow fell from overhead.

“Looks like you need some help!”

Jillian yelped as a flash of green lightning sparked in front of her eyes, leaving a spear and a dead big foot in its wake.

“Another lancer?” she muttered, looking around. How many Cu Chulainns could there possibly be? She didn’t think she could handle another one of them right now, especially with how moody he was at the moment.

However, the person who appeared only a moment after the spear was… definitely _not_ another Cu Chulainn. Sporting armor, an orange sash, and green hair, he threw himself into the battle with the same kind of recklessness as Cu, but he laughed as he fought, like he enjoyed it. Like it was a _game_ to him. It took Jillian a moment to recover from the shock, but when she did, she jumped back into the battle, tying down the creatures as quickly as she could while Cu, Raikou, and their mysterious friend dispatched them.

“Ah, another lightning user!” Raikou said, clapping her hands together joyfully. “How wonderful!”

“The lady speaks my language, eh?” He said with a laugh, throwing his spear like a boomerang through the crowd of forest dwellers.

“Thanks for the assist,” Jillian said, holding out her hand. The newcomer shook it with a smile.

“No problem. Achilles, at your service. And you are?”

“Achilles?!” she exclaimed, turning to Raikou. How cool was that?! She actually knew who Achilles was and a few legends of his battles, though it really was a shame about that tendon. “That’s Achilles!” she hissed, caught up in the moment.

Raikou laughed, but Cu just looked sour.

“I’m Jillian. This is—”

“Cu Chulainn. We could have handled it ourselves, but that was helpful.” He gave a polite nod, but did not smile.

“Please excuse him. He’s moody today,” Jillian said pointedly, cutting a glare over at Cu. “That’s Raikou.”

“Are you a Master, then?” Achilles asked, eyebrow raised. Jillian pulled down her glove to reveal her command seals.

“Yep, that’s me.” As she replaced her glove, the blue gem on her bracelet flared to life, and a voice came through the comms.

“ _Hey, guys, Mash and I found it_! _Well, sort of. We found David, which is basically the same thing._   _Long story._ _You can come back to camp now, and we can talk strategy._ ”

“ _Roger that. We’re bringing company_.”

“Where are you headed? I’ll give you a ride,” Achilles offered as the others continued speaking over the comms. He gestured with his spear and a bolt of lightning split the air.

“That’s not—” Cu began, but Jillian cut him off.

“That would be great, thanks. We’ve been walking for hours. It’ll take a while to get back to the beach.” She sighed before speaking into her bracelet. “We found company, too.”

“Alright!” With a wave of his hand, another bolt of lightning appeared, leaving a chariot in its wake, pulled by three horses. She wasn’t completely sure it was large enough to hold all four of them, but it was worth a shot. Achilles climbed on, eagerly followed by Raikou. Cu hopped on the back, muttering something under his breath, and Jillian went to stand beside him.

“Find something to hold on to,” Achilles said. That was the only warning they got before he cracked the reins. The chariot took off like a shot, and Jillian grabbed out for the first thing that she could get her hands on, letting out an involuntary yelp as she scrambled not to fall off the back.

Which, coincidentally, was Cu Chulainn.

She looked up hesitantly to find amusement dancing in his red eyes as he shook his head. Her arms remained firmly around his waist, though. Embarrassed or not, she wasn’t about to let go—she’d fall into the trees! Which were, for the record, very, _very_ far below them. Cu grumbled something that she couldn’t understand, letting go of the side of the chariot with one hand and wrapping his arm firmly around her shoulders, careful to avoid aggravating her wound. She leaned into him a little, glad to have the relief from the wind and the safety from falling even as she completely failed to hide the rising blush on her cheeks. Her heart beat wildly in her chest, and it wasn’t at all to do with their perilous situation.

Well, not _entirely_.

Achilles whooped and the chariot dove, causing Jillian’s stomach to rise in response. It was like the world’s deadliest rollercoaster, but she seemed to be the only one who wasn’t enjoying it. Raikou, thankfully, navigated for them, because Jillian thought she might vomit if she opened her mouth. Normally, she loved rollercoasters, but it was very different when there were no seatbelts, no _seats_ , and a there was very real chance of falling off the back to your doom. She buried her face against Cu’s chest, holding on as tightly as she could and bracing herself against the drops and rises. A low chuckle reverberated against her ear, and she managed to look up long enough to glare.

“Don’t laugh at me…” she muttered.

“You accepted the ride,” he said with a shrug, though his grip shifted to her waist and tightened, pulling her even closer. “Might as well enjoy it.”

It was true that Achilles’ chariot made the ride much, much shorter, but by the time they made it back to where they’d landed the rowboats, she wondered if it would have been better just to walk after all. Jillian hurriedly leapt from the chariot, plopping down cross-legged on the sand. Was this how Melody felt when they were on ships? Because if so, she did _not_ envy her.

“The rest of the team should be headed this way,” she said, voice shaking a little. “We should probably set up camp for the night while we wait.”

“Alright, and you can update me on what’s going on,” Achilles said with a smile, clearly not intending to leave any time soon.

That didn’t help Cu’s mood at _all_. Though he’d seemed almost genial on the chariot ride, he was back to acting moody as Achilles helped set up the tents and gather wood for a fire. In fact, he went as far as to disappear into the woods to hunt for a while, which was good since they needed food, but it was odd of him to just disappear like that. Jillian tried to brush it off, but she knew that they’d need to have a talk at some point. Maybe she could pull him aside after the rest of the Masters appeared, when it was darker… For the time being, she tried to focus on cleaning her injury with some help from Raikou. The saltwater burned, but it was good for it, and cleared out any dirt and dust from the monster’s claws. According to Raikou’s examination and her own pain levels, it still looked nasty and needed some external healing, but they wouldn’t be able to do anything about that until Melody arrived with Jeanne. The self-healing spell on the gloves would keep it from getting infected, but wasn’t strong enough to heal it entirely.

After a few hours, they saw the next group of team members emerge from the woods. Actually, Achilles was the one to spot them first. Cu and Raikou were busy skinning dinner, Jillian worked on sorting out fruits from the forest into groups of “definitely poisonous,” “definitely magical,” and “probably fine, but let’s check with Waver or Drake.”

“Hey, teacher! Didn’t know you were here, too.” Achilles waved to the group emerging from the forest, led by Melody, with the addition of an Archer that Jillian hadn’t seen before. “Who’s the kid?”

“Call me a kid one more time and I will murder you in cold blood,” Melody grumbled.

“I’d listen to her on that one,” Cu seconded. “I don’t think she actually has a stomach for murder, but that one bites to match her bark when you really piss her off.”

“Duly noted,” Achilles said with a nod, walking over to hug the man he’d called teacher.

“It’s good to see you, Achilles,” the newcomer said with a smile. “This _woman_ is my temporary Master. She might appear young, but she’s clearly not a child.”

Melody looked at her new servant in surprise, appearing to freeze up for a moment before turning back to the rest of the beach. “Okay, did everyone hear that? I like him. He stays,” she declared. Jillian laughed outright.

“Okay, but who _is_ he?”

“My name is Chiron,” he said with a slight bow. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“He’s a teacher. Funny, considering I was wondering where Hercules was, but this is the guy who trained them all,” Melody said proudly. “He rescued us.”

“Jillian. Hi!” She waved from her spot on the sand while Melody made her way closer.

“Wait, holy shit, your shoulder!” Melody cried. “Jeanne, we need some healing, please!”

“Yes!”

In only a moment, Melody was on the ground examining the injury with Jeanne on her heels.

“What happened?” the saint asked, gently working her hands over the injury.

“She got attacked by a forest monster because she wasn’t paying attention,” Cu grumbled from the side. Melody glanced from Cu to Jillian and back again, leaning in closer as Jeanne worked her magic on the wound.

“What’s wrong with Cu?” she whispered.

“Is it that obvious?” Jillian said with a groan.

“… _Yes_?!”

“He’s been in a bad mood this entire trip, and I have no idea why,” Jillian said helplessly.

“I’ll do what I can to try and help, if you want,” she suggested. “I can talk to him, or I have a few tunes up my sleeve?”

“As in a soundtrack? Yes, _please_.” Jillian nodded gratefully. “And thanks for the healing.” Jeanne’s magic was already helping, though she knew from experience that it would take a few days of this before it was back to normal. The saint just waved with a smile before heading off to speak with Zhuge Liang, while Melody remained with Jillian.

“Got it. I’ll try and pick something relaxing.” She carefully removed her headphones, letting them rest around her neck as soft strains of guitars filled the air. It took her a moment to recognize it, but it was clearly an instrumental rendition of “Scarborough Fair.” Simon and Garfunkel never failed when you needed something relaxing, though this rendition lacked the voices. As the music started, a few other members of their team arrived from the woods, following the sound towards their camp. The other servants were used to it by now, but the new arrivals hadn’t been acquainted with Melody’s quirks.

“What is this?” Achilles asked, looking around for the source of the music.

“It’s me,” Melody said quietly, pulling out her pocket knife to start cutting into the fruit. “It’s part of my power. I can… project music. Sort of.”

“It’s very Apollonian,” Chiron said approvingly, taking a seat near Melody. Seeing him stretched out near her while she curled in on herself, knees tucked to her chest, made her look even smaller. Chiron didn’t seem bothered, though. On the contrary, he looked… confident. Calm. Like that one English professor who always knew exactly what their students needed and you swore had something extra in his coffee to keep him sedated, but could never prove it.

“Would you prefer something more Dionysian?” Melody asked with a smirk.

“No—”

“Yes!” Achilles chimed in simultaneously. Melody just laughed, clearly unoffended, while Chiron sighed.

“Maybe later, okay? I’ll play some dance music,” she suggested.

“Only if I get to dance with you two,” Achilles said jovially, winking at Melody and Jillian while Chiron rolled his eyes.

Jillian used that as an opportunity to sneak away from the conversation about Greek music and over to Cu, who seemed to have finished up his work with his kill from the hunt. Her stomach turned a little at the sight of the discarded organs, but it was part of the necessary food prep. She managed to catch Raikou’s eye, signaling with a brief incline of her head that they needed space. Raikou nodded, giving Jillian a quick kiss on her forehead and pat on the back before walking off towards where the others stood.

“Cu… are you okay?” Jillian asked hesitantly, finally far enough away from the group that they wouldn’t be able to hear them, but she could still hear Melody’s music. The song seemed to leech into her bones, muscles relaxing and tension fading.

“Don’t worry about me. Worry about yourself,” he said with a sigh. “How’s your shoulder?”

“It’s better. Still hurts like a bitch, but I’ll live,” she said with a shrug. She felt stiff and bruised to the bone, though Melody’s song helped a little with a pain. Odd. She wondered if that was purposeful… but no time to dwell on that now.

“Good. I can’t have you croaking on me, Master” Cu said, giving a tiny smile as he looked over at her, but it faded quickly. “You have to be more aware in battle.”

“I’m trying my best. If there’s something else I should be doing, I’ll do it, but I’m improving as quickly as I can.” She couldn’t think of another way to improve her skill set besides time, even though she realized that wasn’t something they really had the luxury of. In another case, someone else could do the job, but they were quite literally the only ones left.

“I know that,” he said curtly, suddenly walking closer. Jillian tensed, a little confused as he placed his hands on her shoulders, gently turning her around.

“Stay still.”

Heat washed over her injury for a moment, reminiscent of the runes he’d drawn to help relax her muscles and ease the pain of her overloaded magic circuits. When it faded, her injury felt… not necessarily better, but numb, like someone had injected her with a mild localized anesthesia.

“You should still be careful with it, but that will dull the pain.” He moved back around to stand in front of her, avoiding her eyes. “I don’t want you to think you aren’t improving. You’re getting better, but you’re _my_ partner, and I’m your trainer. Don’t go to other people for things that I can do.”

A tiny lightbulb flickered in Jillian’s mind. She wasn’t positive, so the next words that came out were very, very quiet, but she had an inkling.

“Are… are you jealous?”

Cu made a clicking sound, crossing his arms over his chest. He still wouldn’t look her in the eyes. “I have no reason to be jealous of that lawless Archer. He has no pride as a Heroic Spirit. Why would I be jealous of him?”

“I mean, it kinda sounds like you are,” Jillian muttered. “You didn’t seem to like it much when Achilles arrived, either…”

“Look, if you have something you want to say, just say it. Otherwise, I’m going to take this over so we can get on with the cooking.”

“I… I…” Jillian bit her lip, suddenly going silent. What was she _supposed_ to tell him? That she had a massive crush on her trainer and partner? Telling him that was definitely not an option, especially when he hadn’t expressed any feelings for her beyond the same kind of casual flirting that he showed to _literally any other female in Chaldea_ , and actually, he’d been doing less and less of that of late. Should she say that didn’t know what was wrong, but he had no reason to be jealous? Why was he even jealous in the first place? Maybe it was just Archer getting on his nerves as usual, or possessiveness over a student like any other trainer. After all, Emiya said his trainer had been offended when he changed fighting styles, as if using one that was more suited for him but belonged to someone else was an insult. Granted, he’d never mentioned who that sword trainer was, but she got the impression they were a woman. Could it be something as simple as that?

Or maybe she really wasn’t improving quickly enough, and he’d only told her that to placate her? Her head spun with wild amalgamation of thoughts, each one less likely that the last, and any words that might have been building died before they based her lips, withering under the curious gaze of his deep red eyes.

Cu waited patiently for a moment before shaking his head, picking up the makeshift tray of meat as he turned back towards the rest of the group.

“That’s what I thought.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I know that Chiron and Achilles don't show up in the original FGO Okeanos arc. However, I really wanted to include them in this fic, and this seemed like the most logical place to put them since there are a LOT of Greeks on those islands.
> 
> Thanks for reading, all!


	7. In Which Hans Zimmer Comes in Clutch

_ Suggested Listening: Finding You by Kesha _

_ Diegetic Listening: “Hoist the Colors” and “What Shall We Die For?” from Pirates at the Caribbean: At World’s End _

* * *

 

**Singularity: Okeanos, Day 7**

“Okay, I already hated boats, but battles on boats are worse!” Melody jumped out of the way of an attack from one of the enemy sailors, firing back at them as quickly as she could. Though her accuracy had improved, she still wasn’t able to shield and fire at the same time. The headphones helped to channel energy, but it meant that she needed to work harder to push through the barriers, like trying to push everything through a funnel, and it was difficult to work with two items at once.

“We can’t do anything against these guys— Medea’s healing them too quickly!” Hannah said, grunting as she aimed a kick at one of the enemy sailors.

Melody fired off a round of stun shots, pushing the sailors back and away from her allies, but it was slow work. Da Vinci’s headphones helped her focus her magic, but concentrated mana output was draining, and she wasn’t sure how long she’d last. The others weren’t faring so well, either. Joseph did his best to force their enemies over the railing of the ship, but it was slow work, as he needed to make sure his bombs wouldn’t hit their team. Jillian wrapped her threads around the sailors, hoisting them into the air by the mast like bugs in a spider’s web, but she couldn’t keep up with Hector cutting them down.

“Is your team opposed to deadly force?” Chiron asked, firing off a flurry of arrows towards Jason. Medea easily dealt with them, returning fire quickly. Melody jumped out of the way just in time.

“If possible, yeah, but something tells me that dream isn’t going to last…” She scrambled to her feet, trying to survey the situation for any openings, any weaknesses.  _ Come on— what would Waver do? _

Well, at the moment, Waver was providing some backup for Drake, but that was beside the point. A good strategist uses what they have to their maximum capability, and Melody could only think of one other thing she might be able to try. Granted, she’d never tested it. It was only a theory, and it hadn’t even worked in training when they tried, but she’d done something different the night before, and she’d been practicing on her own.

From the far side of the ship, Grant cried out in pain as a sailor’s sword hit its mark, and Melody made her decision. If she was going to do anything, it had to be fast, and it had to be  _ now _ .

“Okay, this is a real shot in the dark, but I think I can do something to help,” she said quickly. “Chiron, can you cover me for a few minutes?”

“Of course,” he said with a nod, automatically moving in front of her.

“Okay, okay, okay…” Melody murmured, trying to calm herself as she removed her headphones. She couldn’t aim this. The headphones might help her focus her mana, but it had to be wide-range in order to work. In fact, it was debatable it would work at all, as she’d only finished weaving the spell into the song the night before, and she wasn’t confident she could even audiate all the necessary parts, much less aim at the same time. She’d just have to focus on her magic and her allies, and hope that it discriminated as easily as Waver seemed to think it would. She took a deep breath, backing herself against the ship’s railing even as she tried to block out the rocking sensation, stomach roiling as she squeezed her eyes shut.

“ _ The king and his men stole the queen from her bed, _ ” she sang softly, “ _ and bound her in her bones… _ ”

A snare drum shot rang out across the ship, barely audible over the sounds of fighting. She didn’t dare open her eyes, forced to trust that Chiron would keep her safe while she released the spell.

“ _ The seas be ours, and by the powers... where we will, we’ll roam _ .”

A sheen of sweat formed on Melody’s forehead, eyes still shut. She focused on the tune, on the sounds, on projecting them as far as she could and as accurately as she could. Harmonies, melodies, timbre, blending together in her mind. It swirled into one voice made from many voices, and like a dam cracking open, the spell released.

It took a moment for Melody to hear the physical sound waves, growing layer by layer from an orchestra in her mind that build like a swelling wave, doing her best to create each line of the music, though she could tell that things were missing here and there from lack of practice. After all, she’d only thrown it together quickly. Some chords weren’t fully fleshed out, others seemed a little lost or missing secondary parts, but the parameters of the spell were simple enough that it still seemed to work: healing and a sheer power boost.

“Is this  _ you _ ?” Chiron asked. Melody cracked open one eye, mana flowing effortlessly forth now that the spell had already started, and found herself surrounded by glowing, white sparkles. A brassy melody seemed to surround them, flowing from nowhere in particular, timpani rolls splitting the air like distant thunder. Melody’s skin felt warm where the sparkling pieces landed, the cuts on her forearm knitting closed.

“It’s me,” she said with a nod, eyes wide. “It— it worked! Hans Zimmer coming in clutch!”

Melody punched the air from sheer joy, laughing as the sparks continued to rain down. Imperfect though her reproduction may have been, it likely would not have been overly noticeable to the casual listener, and it seemed to be magically effective. So, naturally, she made it louder.

_ Yo, ho, haul together _

_ Hoist the colors high! _

_ Heave, ho, thieves and beggars _

_ Never shall we die! _

“Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it!” Drake shouted over her shoulder, locked in combat with Jason. Melody nodded, entirely focused on her spell, weaving sounds together into the air. In fact, she was so focused that she didn’t even notice even Hector taking aim.

Luckily, someone else did.

“Down!” Chiron suddenly tackled Melody to the ground, knocking the breath from her lungs, though he wasn’t pinning her with his full weight. The spell rolled on despite her distraction, cut loose from its reins but still working. Looking over his shoulder, she could see a spear embedded in the wood of the ship where she once stood. He caught her eye for one brief second before rolling off her and firing a stream of arrows towards Hector.

“Thank you,” Melody said, scrambling to her feet as a bright blush stained her cheeks, embarrassed at being caught off guard.

“Any time.” Chiron didn’t turn to look at her, his eyes on the battle in front of them, but she could hear the sincerity in his voice.

“Um, hey, Melody? Did you just turn Pirates of the Caribbean into a magic song?” Grant called, looking around as sparks continued to fall.

“We’re on a  _ pirate ship _ , and it was stuck in my head late last night,” Melody shouted over the din, “What was I  _ supposed _ to do?!”

“No complaints here!” Joseph barked from the side.

Pirates and servants clashed on the deck while Melody continued her song. Medea did her best to compensate for the new support, but Melody’s song put them on an even playing field. Refreshed, Masters and servants alike threw themselves back into the battle as the song faded from the air. Melody felt drained, but continued to fire stun shots from her position near the mizzenmast.

“Hannah— opening! Go for Medea!” Drake cried, throwing off one of Jason’s attacks.

“Got it!”

After that, things went a little blurry for Melody.

Visually blurry.

Later, she recalled swaying into the side of the ship, hurling her last meal over the side  _ again _ , and firing out more stun shots until her arms were numb, but if she was honest, Chiron and Jeanne did most of the work.

“I think I might have overdone it this time,” she admitted, slumping against the ship’s railing as Joseph retrieved the last grail.

“Easy does it, little miss,” Achilles said, appearing from seemingly nowhere as he looped an arm under her shoulders, pulling her back on her feet just as she noticed her balance failing her. “Don’t give out on me. You owe me a dance, remember? Actually, maybe teacher deserves one, too, for that daring rescue.”

“It was what I would do for any ally.” She thought she saw Chiron turn to look at her, but couldn’t make out the expression on his face. In any case, she appreciated Achilles trying to lighten the mood.

“Thanks, Chiron,” she said woozily. “He’s right; I really owe you.”

“Just focus on getting back to Chaldea unscathed,” Chiron said gently. Her vision blacked out and she swayed again, only brought back to reality by the feeling of another strong hand on her shoulder.

“Hey, Holy Maiden, can we get some help?” Achilles called.

“Of course.”

“When you get back to Chaldea, call us,” Chiron said quietly, his breath tickling her ear. Melody felt herself shift from one person’s hold to another, and that was the last she remembered of Okeanos.

* * *

 

**The Missing Year: Week 12, Day 3**

When they extricated themselves from the coffins, the first thing Melody did was call for Emiya. Cu continued to pout throughout this process, but Emiya managed to stop provoking him long enough to diagnose her condition. According to him, her magic circuits hadn’t been flooded, but she’d been almost completely drained of mana. The only solution was bedrest, and lots of it. However, she insisted on following the others into the summoning area to see what new allies they might be able to bring under their wings.

Da Vinci was waiting in the summoning area, already standing by the computer and scanning the servant list for new names.

“Good work, team!” she said with a smile. “You’ve successfully restored the third singularity.”

Melody was just happy to be on stable ground again, and she said as much.

“You did a great job with the pirate shanty even if you never got your sea legs,” Joseph said with a laugh, patting her back gently.

“You did  _ what _ ?” Roman asked, blinking. Joseph recounted their last battle on the pirate ship as quickly as possible while Melody leaned against the wall of the room, just trying to breathe normally while her head stopped spinning.

“Well, it worked, didn’t it?” Melody only shrugged, just glad to have a moment to rest. For a thrown-together spell, she thought everything had gone quite well. Thanks to Chiron, at least. Her eyes slid to the side, the thought once more occurring to her that she would be dead without him.

“Has anyone ever told you that you guys are a walking meme?” Roman sighed.

“The walking meme got you a grail, didn’t it?” Joseph said indignantly. He held up the cup and wiggled it in front of the digital apparition of Roman.

“Meme Team let’s go!” Jillian said, high-fiving Melody as she cheered.

“Alright, fair point. Now, if only Magi Mari would update her channel, it would be a perfect day…” Roman said with a sigh.

“That’s so sad. Da Vinci, play Despacito,” Melody deadpanned. Jillian and Grant snorted with laughter, but the surrounding servants simply looked confused.

“You are. A walking. Meme,” Roman said, exasperated. “Okay, I give up. You’re actually the Meme Team now. I’m changing it in the Chaldea mainframe.”

“Excellent,” Hannah shot a thumbs up from the side, already making her way out of the rayshift area and towards the summon circle.

“Go bring home your pirate girlfriend,” Joseph said in a singsong voice, a shit-eating grin crossing his face as Hannah glared. Grant and Jillian also chuckled, and Melody couldn’t help but smile. They  _ would _ make a cute couple.

Only a moment later, the group stood around the summon circle, taking turns to see if any of their friends from Okeanos might respond to their call. Unsurprisingly, Drake appeared almost instantly, running over to Hannah and hugging her without hesitation, picking her up off her feet in the process. Joseph outright whooped at that.

“ _ Strong _ Pirate Queen,” Jillian mumbled, impressed.

Asterios and Euryale arrived quickly, as well, and even little Medea showed up, much to all their surprise. Jillian was confident that Melody could handle her, though. She was a big sister kind of figure, and probably one of the only two people on the team she’d trust with a child servant. However, after it seemed that all the familiar faces that wanted to appear had already arrived, Melody seemed hesitant to leave.

“You want to go get the archer guy, don’t you?” Jillian asked, remembering how he’d tackled her out of the way of Hector’s spear. She ribbed Melody’s side suggestively.

“I don’t like him like that!” she insisted, glaring at Jillian. “He saved my life. I feel like I owe him, you know?”

Jillian placed her hands on Melody’s shoulders, steering her friend back towards the summon area. Da Vinci and Roman were already on their way out of the room, but Jillian slipped past, calling an apology in their wake.

“Jillian, wait!” Melody stuttered.

“No man left behind, here! Or, uh, centaur, I guess.”

“Da Vinci said we needed a catalyst to call someone specific,” Melody said glumly. “But… Chiron, if you’re out there… thanks.” The circle began to spin, though Melody was almost scared to look when the light cleared.

“Hello, Master.”

Melody looked up with a pleased grin.

“Hello, Chiron.”

* * *

 

**The Missing Year: Week 14, Day 6**

Cu Chulainn sat brooding in the cafeteria one afternoon, still feeling moody after their return from Okeanos and doing his best to avoid Jillian outside training. He couldn’t quite put his finger on why he wanted to avoid her, besides that being around her spurred a kind of possessiveness he wasn’t used to, especially when he thought about her alternating training sessions with Emiya. It didn’t make any sense to him, and it only made him more and more frustrated the longer he dwelled, not to mention the incredible awkwardness of—

“Might I speak with you for a moment?”

A voice from above him jolted him out of his thoughts, and he looked up to find one of their newest arrivals standing beside him. Chiron, the Greek trainer of heroes, a servant of Melody. Cu hadn’t spoken with him much, aside from a short conversation the first night he’d made camp with them, but he seemed trustworthy enough, if frustratingly levelheaded even in the most dire of situations.

“Have a seat,” he said, gesturing to the empty chair beside him. “What did ya want to talk about?”

“With permission, I’d like to take on my Master as a student,” Chiron said firmly. Well, at least he didn’t beat around the bush. Cu liked that kind of directness.

“If she wants to train with you, she can train with you. Why would you need my permission for that?” Cu asked, eyebrows raised. He took a long drink from his glass of water while Chiron looked at him curiously.

“You  _ are _ her current trainer, are you not?” he asked, his tone carefully measured. “I am not in the business of stealing students from another teacher, and forgive me, but you seem… uncomfortable with Emiya training your other students.”

“You’re forgiven,” Cu said, avoiding the centaur’s eyes, thought the tick in his jaw said differently. “That Archer and I have some fundamental differences in our ideals. I don’t like the thought of them rubbing off on anyone else. That’s all.”

Chiron nodded slowly,

“And me? Are there any differences in my ideals you’d like to address?”

“Eh, ya seem alright, so far. Your Master seems to have a nose for people’s temperaments, so I’ll trust her if she says you’re a good guy.” He shrugged, downing the last of his water and wishing, not for the first time, that there was a servant around who specialized in wine. On days like this, he really needed a drink.

“And yours doesn’t?”

Cu chuckled. “Not particularly, no. She’s either too trusting or too suspicious. Doesn’t put enough faith in her instincts even though they’re usually good.”

He’d noticed several things about his Master and about Melody during their training sessions. Firstly, they were both in incredible need of training, but that was obvious. Melody had a sixth sense for people in a way that was odd, like she could sniff out their personalities, and the servants she attracted were much the same. Jeanne, Martha, Waver, and now Chiron… all of them possessed a certain kind of perception that went hand in hand with her emotional instincts… but her battle instincts were terrible.

Jillian, on the other hand, had excellent battle instincts, if she could simply remember to use them. She hesitated far too often, and that was her downfall. Emotionally, she was also the opposite of Melody. While Melody rarely showed her emotions on her face, his Master wore her heart on her sleeve, and her emotions were easy to read— fears, anxieties, even love…

He cringed at the thought, putting his glass down with a clunk.

“You are especially…  _ fond _ of your Master, aren’t you?” Chiron asked slowly. Cu tensed, shaking his head vaguely.

“She’s a bumbling,  _ reckless _ idiot. I just don’t want to see her killed.” He shook his head slowly, gaze suddenly glued somewhere in the middle space past the table. “When she finally decides she wants to be ruthless, though, she’ll be a real force of nature. She has more capacity for battle than she thinks she does.”

“I see,” Chiron said with a wistful smile. He slowly stood from the table.

“What  _ exactly _ is that supposed to mean?”

“You’re aware that she’s fond of  _ you _ ?”

“Of course.” It was impossible for him not to be. That was the awkwardness he’d been dwelling on before, trying to figure out how best to address it, if he should address it at all. Infatuation faded, after all. His Master wore her heart on her sleeve so much that he couldn’t possibly miss the way she stuttered around him, how she blushed when he touched her, or even the way she stole glances at him when they were on a mission, and she didn’t think he was looking.

It was silly, in a way, like a teenager dancing around their first crush, but she clearly didn’t want to talk about it, and that was probably for the best. After all, she wasn’t really his type. He normally went for more commanding women. Ruthless. Maybe a little battle-crazed. Kind of like his teacher.

“Hm,” Chiron murmured noncommittally.

“What?” This guy clearly had an opinion, but he wasn’t about to voice it. What did he know? What had he seen? Did he have the same kind of freaky perception that his Master did? Because if so, that was a little unnerving. He still wasn’t sure how Melody managed to strip away layers from people without revealing many of her own. “If ya got something to say, just say it.”

“May I be frank?” Chiron asked, inclining his head ever so slightly.

“I’d rather that than you being easy on me.”

“Relationships between humans and Heroic Spirits rarely last,” he said carefully, “but your relationship as Master and servant demands that you examine your own feelings carefully in order to maintain the integrity of your partnership.”

Cu Chulainn groaned, rubbing his temples with his hands. “You really are a teacher type, aren’t you?” It was kind of annoying, in a way.

“I take pride in my teaching.” Chiron smiled, standing from his position at the table.

“I would say that those who can’t…” Cu said, but trailed off with a shrug. “I wouldn’t dare say that to someone I’ve seen in battle, though.”

“A wise decision on your part.” Though he looked like he was smiling, Cu didn’t miss the steel under his tone. Hm. A formidable warrior as well as a teacher. How interesting.

As Chiron walked away, tail swishing behind him, Cu couldn’t help but mull over his words. Examine his feelings? In what way? He’d already established that his Master wasn’t his type of woman. The only good news in this situation was that, against all odds, she was a bearable Master. More than bearable, really. Untrained, but quick on her feet, and reckless to boot. He could work with that. The bad news was that she was untrained and reckless to boot, which made up an unfortunate two-thirds of the good news. If she wasn’t careful, she’d get them both killed. She was too… too  _ soft _ .

But… she did have a reckless streak that he appreciated. She could laugh even in the face of battle, not in the same way as Achilles, but enough that it made him feel a little lighter while fighting back to back with her. She wasn’t as ruthless as his teacher, or as sharp-tongued, but when Jillian got angry, she was still a force to be reckoned with. She only had to let herself loose and she could be  _ incredible _ , but she was so stubborn.

Which, ironically, was another thing he liked.

She could be annoying at times, though, like out on the beach. Where did she get off telling him that he was jealous? He just didn’t want Emiya’s complete lack of pride and ethics as a Counter Guardian to rub off on someone as idealistic and tenderhearted as Jillian. He wanted her to stay as kind as she was, if possible.

But… why did that matter? Retaining his pride in his ideals and as a Heroic Spirit was one thing, but watching his master become a battle-hardened mage was entirely another. She was inexperienced and lacked the stomach to take a life, even if it was necessary, but she had a good heart. He wanted to see her improve, to keep that good heart, to laugh with her in the face of death, to be the person she turned to for help, for assistance, for improvement…

And it suddenly dawned on him that he might be jealous after all.

He knew that she wasn’t his usual type. That was certain. She was emotional, and untrained, and soft. But… she had a nice laugh, and her couldn’t deny that he found her figure quite  _ physically _ attractive. Soft and curvy, a good smile… And that incredible stubborn streak that was both infuriating and arousing at the same time.

The longer he continued to wade through the emotional sloop stewing in the back of his mind, the more he felt tangled in his own thoughts, which was unusual for him. He typically knew what to do and which direction to go in any given scenario, but now… Well, now he was starting to think that his Master might just be his type of woman, after all.

* * *

 

**The Missing Year: Week 15, Day 2**

It had been three days since she’d seen Cu.

Jillian had swapped her schedule around to train twice a week with Cu Chulainn and twice a week with Emiya, and she hadn’t laid eyes on hide nor hair of her blue Lancer since she last saw him at training. His mood hadn’t improved at all in the weeks since returning from Okeanos. At first she’d been a little upset, thinking that whatever it was probably was her fault, but now she was just angry. If there was something wrong, she’d tried repeatedly to talk to him about it! She didn’t know what else to do besides being outright confrontational, and Jillian really wanted to avoid that at all costs.

So, she’d decided to go and find him  _ before _ training. This way, they wouldn’t have to deal with whatever moody spell he was going through around Melody, and he could work out his issues on his own time before they had to work together.

Unfortunately, Jillian was having trouble finding him. He didn’t seem to be anywhere around Chaldea, and no one had seen him, so she’d just decided to wander the halls until she found him. He could stay in a dematerialized state as long as he wanted, but she knew that he didn’t like doing that while around Chaldea. He might just be hiding somewhere, but finding the spot was proving to be a challenge.

After an hour of walking systematically around the base, Jillian finally turned down one of the back hallways leading to the library. People rarely used this passage. It was off the main path, and only served as a shortcut from the Masters’ rooms to the library, which meant that basically only Melody occasionally used it to get back from the library in the dead of night after researching, but Jillian knew it existed, so it was worth checking.

Much to her surprise, someone else knew it existed, too.

A tall, muscular form clad all in blue leaned against the wall, almost indistinguishable from the shadows in the corridor, but Jillian could pick him out. She’d know that silhouette anywhere.

“Cu?”

He didn’t look up, but she knew he’d heard her.

“What are you even doing here? Meditating? Brooding?”

“I had some things on my mind, that’s all,” he said with a shrug. “Looks like I should find another place to be.”

Alright, that was it.

“Okay, what’s going on? What did I do? Why are you so grumpy lately?” Jillian asked, throwing her hands up in utter defeat. “Not only are you grumpy, you’re straight up  _ avoiding me _ .”

“And?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“ _ And _ are you gonna tell me what the problem is?” She was just grateful that there didn’t seem to be anyone else in this wing of the building, her voice echoing through the empty hallways.

“Is that an order from my Master?”

“Does it have to be?” she asked, exasperated. “Or can I maybe keep it as a strong suggestion from a concerned…  _ friend _ ,” she said carefully, mentally berating herself for the hesitation in her voice.

Cu was her friend. Of  _ course, _ he was. At this moment, it didn’t matter about her stupid crush, she just needed him to talk to her again. Not only did it hurt her heart, but it hurt their relationship as partners in battle. They needed to be in top form physically and emotionally, and this certainly wasn’t it.

Cu scoffed, pushing himself off the wall. “That’s the problem with you. You bend and bend and don’t know when to stop before you snap.” He started to walk away, leaving Jillian standing with her mouth open, looking at the spot on the wall where he’d just been.

“ _ Excuse me _ ?!”

He paused only for the briefest moment before continuing to walk down the hallway, muttering under his breath.

“There’s the snap.”

“Okay, that’s it. I  _ have _ snapped!” Jillian hurried around to stand in front of him, blocking his path. “You’re gonna stop  _ right now _ and tell me what your fucking issue is, mister.”

A tiny smile pulled at the corner of Cu’s mouth. Oddly, he didn’t seem angry in the least.

“You know, you’re really sexy when you’re angry.”

“ _ I will kill you, you stupid Lancer _ !” Jillian spluttered, anger getting the better of any kind of coherent argument. “First you won’t admit that you’re jealous, even though I really don’t understand why because you can’t be wanting for attention. I spend more time with you than anyone else but Melody, and actually, I might even be seeing you more than her recently. Then you completely avoid me, and now you’re trying to flirt with me when I’m pissed. Just tell me what’s wrong already so we can work it out and get back to normal.”

Cu looked at her for a long moment, still infuriatingly calm even as Jillian’s blood boiled. She wasn’t letting him out of this without an explanation. This had gone on for far too long already. Jillian held her ground, not moving a single muscle, and finally Cu relented, his shoulders relaxing a little as his eyes dropped to the ground, as if he’d suddenly found something very interesting on the floor.

“You know, at first, I was a little skeptical about having you as my Master,” Cu said with a sigh, gaze still fixed on the floor. “You’re softhearted and reckless to a fault, inexperienced, and you don’t have the same brand of ruthlessness as other mages. It’ll get you killed if you’re not careful.”

Jillian felt a little stung, unsure how to respond. She didn’t think she was that bad, and she’d been doing her best to improve, but maybe she just hadn’t met his expectations. It was impossible to hide the slump in her shoulders at his words, but Cu simply held up a hand.

“But you  _ are _ a pretty fast learner, which I like. You stick to your guns and your own sense of integrity.” He suddenly looked up, red eyes pinning her in place like a deer in the headlights as he walked closer. She didn’t quite know what to do but back up, stepping away until her back hit the wall. “Which means that I guess it’s my job to train you enough that we both stay alive.”

“What… what are you trying to say?” Jillian asked, brow furrowing in confusion. “I swear, I’m trying my best.” Her heart pounded in her chest as he moved even closer, one of his hands moving to catch her wrist and pin it against the wall, while the other brushed away a misplaced lock of hair.

“Okay,” Cu said with a helpless sigh, “apparently I should mention that you’re also a little dense.”

And then he kissed her.

Jillian’s eyes went wide in surprise. She wouldn’t have moved even if he wasn’t pinning her against the wall. Sheer shock kept her frozen in place, to the point where she didn’t even consciously realize that  _ she should probably be kissing him back _ before he pulled away again. He kept his hands over her wrist, but loosened his hold, seemingly waiting on her reaction. Jillian’s mouth opened and closed like a codfish for a moment, words failing her, before Cu chuckled. He let go of one of her wrists to gently knock on her forehead with his knuckles.

“Master? You in there?”

“Um… ah… yep,” she choked out, nodding slowly as a fiery blush spread across her cheeks. She still felt a little too stunned to move between the proximity and  _ holy shit he has feelings for me howdidImissthis?  _ Cu held her gaze for another long moment before gentling releasing her, backing away with a sigh.

“Sorry. I won’t do that again,” he mumbled, looking like a kicked puppy as he turned away. Jillian had the good sense to catch his hand before he went too far, words tumbling out of her mouth before she managed to completely process what she was saying.

“Um— it’s just— you should… probably keep doing that,” she stuttered, nodding. “Definitely.”

Cu’s expression immediately changed from downtrodden to mischievous, a toothy grin crossing his face, and Jillian had the sudden impression that he knew exactly what he was doing when he looked so sad before… but there wasn’t really time to process that, because he was suddenly  _ very _ close again, one of his hands sliding down her waist to settle firmly at the curve of her hip, trapping her once more even as his chest pressed against hers.

“Oh, really now?” he whispered, breath tickling the skin of her neck. “Well, I guess I should take that as an order from my Master.”

“You know what? I’m fine with that.” It sounded a little breathless, even to her, but clearly Cu didn’t mind. He chuckled, lips ghosting against her skin as his free arm wrapped around her back, pulling her flush against him as he kissed her again.

Jillian’s brain short circuited in that moment, but that was alright. Her body took over in its place, letting her hands wander hesitantly over his back, tracing their way over shoulder blades and muscles, though she hesitated to vary her exploration quite as much as he clearly would have liked.

“Master… you can be a little more aggressive than that, you know?” His lips traced a path down her jaw to her neck as he worked down the zipper on her uniform  _ just _ a little, teeth scraping the flesh of her collarbone. His own hands wandered of their own accord, barely brushing the side of her breast, but slipping down her waist and to the curve of her ass, pulling her as closely against him as physically possible. Jillian shivered, involuntarily clinging to him a little more tightly, just as he asked. Why was she not surprised that he was clearly a biter?

“Was—was  _ this _ your problem?” she asked breathlessly.

“Not anymore,” he mumbled, “ _ This _ is the opposite of a problem.”

His mouth latched onto her skin as her nails dug into his back through the fabric of that  _ stupidly _ revealing bodysuit. Jillian hadn’t ever been quite as thankful for the high collar of her uniform as she was in that moment, tilting her head to the side as he undoubtedly left hickeys on her neck. The vague notion ran through her mind that he was marking his territory, but what little part of her that still had access to her conscious brain didn’t care at all.

“Let go a little, Master. I can already tell  _ exactly _ how you feel.”

Jillian opened her mouth to respond, but all that came out was soft, unintelligible noise. Cu slanted his mouth over hers once more, the breath stolen from her as his tongue slipped into her mouth. She told herself that she’d stop him if he went too far, but this wasn’t so far that she felt uncomfortable, his hungry kisses leaving her breathless and wanting.

“Come on, be honest with me,” he panted, breaking the kiss. “I know you’re attracted to me. You give yourself away.”

His pupils were dilated and his breathing was quick, belying his own attraction, even if that felt hard for her to believe. It felt more like a daydream than anything, kissing someone that she’d considered so far out of her reach. A fantasy, a fleeting moment that she’d never thought she would feel for herself. However, the lingering stinging sensation on her neck and the bruising pressure of his grip made it clear that this was very, very real.

And so was that  _ sound _ .

A crash from around the corner pulled them out of the moment, followed by quickly retreating footsteps. Cu looked over suspiciously, motioning for her to wait. He walked quietly to the junction in the hallway and peeked around the corner for a long moment, but ultimately shrugged.

“No one was there.”

“Maybe one of the new servants got lost? No one ever comes down here.”

“Maybe…” Cu muttered, but let the matter drop. “Now, where were we? Ah—  _ you _ were going to admit just how sexy you find me.” He smirked way too confidently for her liking, gently touching his finger to the tip of her nose before wrapping his arm possessively around her waist, walking off down the hallway like he  _ hadn’t _ just pushed her against a wall and kissed her till she couldn’t breathe.

“So, how long have you known?” she asked with a wince. Cu looked down, eyebrows raised, and let out a laugh.

“… Don’t ever play poker, Jill. You don’t have the face for it.”

Jillian stopped walking,

“Then  _ why _ did we have to go through all that  _ drama _ ?!” she shrieked. “Why couldn’t you have asked me on a date like a  _ normal _ person instead of cornering me in a hallway and shoving your tongue down my throat?!”

“I had some things to work out,” he said with a shrug. “You know, you’re not my usual type, but I think I could really get used to this…”

“I thought you hated me for three weeks because you were having an after-life crisis?” Jillian deadpanned. “ _ Really _ , Cu?”

Anger flared in her chest again as she scoffed, shaking her head. His grip on her waist just tightened, pulling her along down the hallway once more.

“Admit it, you liked it,” Cu whispered in her ear. She could hear more than see the teasing smirk on his face, her own cheeks still flushed. “And I think we still have time before training to… explore that crisis, if you’d like to hear the details.”

“Mm.” Jillian made a noncommittal noise, crossing her arms over her chest even as she was certain her face was the shade of a tomato. They were going towards the Master dormitories, anyways. He’d figure it out by the time they got there.

“Jillian?”

“Mm?”

“Will you go on a date with me  _ like a normal person _ ?” he asked, mimicking her tone. Jillian huffed, raising her eyebrows.

“I’ll think about it.”

 


	8. In Which the Reader Rides an Emotional Rollercoaster

_ Suggested Listening: Nobody Sees by Powderfinger _

* * *

 

**The Missing Year: Week 15, Day 2, Another Part of the Building**

It was fine.

It was fine when Melody decided to do early morning research in order to catch up on some of the Greek legends she hadn’t anticipated needing to review. It was even fine when she decided to skip breakfast in favor of sleeping a little later, and when she decided to take the shortcut

It was fine when she turned down the corridor and saw them.

It was fine when she staggered back, dropping the stack of books she’d been carrying, and scrambled to pick them up before they saw. She didn’t think they’d seen, which was even better than fine— it was  _ good _ . She wouldn’t have wanted to ruin the moment for them.

And he obviously didn’t see her in that way, not when... Melody pushed away the mental image of Jillian pressed against the wall by Cu, who quite clearly had other things on his mind than their training session later that day. No, he wouldn’t ever see Melody that way. He thought of her as a bookish child, just like everyone else here.

Which was fine, too.

Did you know that “I’m fine?” is the most commonly told lie in the world?

“Fine” in the sense that she could deal with it, or ignore it, or manage it until the pain faded entirely. It didn’t mean free of pain, it meant able to function well enough while the pain raged. The rejection from Cu was bad enough, but she took solace in the fact that it wasn’t an outright rejection, and that she’d done her best to hide her feelings, so how could he possibly know? At least she’d escaped with her pride intact, even though she felt like she was going to be sick to her stomach. At least Jillian got to have a happy ending. That was good enough.

She could live with that.

The thought occurred to Melody that this was something she might normally call her mom or her best friend after, and talk to them until it was off her mind. That was, interestingly, the thought that really broke her.

First of all, Jillian was her best friend, and there was no way in hell she’d ever talk to her about this. Ever. It could be years in the future and she wouldn’t ever let her know. Secondly, the entire world outside was lost to her. On a good day, she thought she could save it. On a bad day, she wondered if they would all wind up dying regardless. On most days, though, she just missed it.

Most people here had no connections outside Chaldea. Some of the Masters talked about their family every now and then, but none openly, as if they too felt the loss, but didn’t want to say it. Roman never talked about his family, Mash was a homunculus, and the rest of the inhabitants were Heroic Spirits who were technically already dead. Their company was appreciated, but not the same as friends and family that she longed to see again. Jeanne was right: having a soft heart did take strength, and today she wasn’t certain she could handle it.

So, between the personal heartbreak and the heartbreak over all of humanity, she didn’t notice there was already someone else in the training area when she started pounding away at one of the training dummies, aiming with her fists rather than her magic or a staff. The impact stung, but it felt good to feel something other than trapped in her own thoughts.

“Something on your mind?” Chiron asked carefully. Melody shook her head, biting her lip almost hard enough to draw blood before aiming another punch at the dummy.

“You’re wasting energy.”

“That’s the point,” she said through gritted teeth, tears of frustration pricking at the corners of her eyes.

“That’s a terrible strategy for working out your anger.” Something about his tone made her turn, eyebrow raised. She didn’t question how he knew she was angry— not stressed, not frustrated, but  _ hurt _ . Maybe it was a teacher thing, but no one else but Jillian seemed to pick up on those nuances.

“Do you have a  _ better _ suggestion?” Melody wasn’t trying to be efficient or even to train properly, especially now. All she wanted was a release, and if punching something that was made  _ specifically to be punched _ until she was drained of energy was what did it, well, that was fine.

“If you feel like talking, I’m willing to listen,” he offered.

“Thanks, but I’m good.” Melody punched the dummy again, but only received a sigh from Chiron in return.

“If you’re not going to talk, then we’re going to train. I can’t just keep letting you punch like that. It goes against my moral code as a teacher of heroes.”

“I’m not a hero,” Melody mumbled. Two punches. They both stung.

“Prove it. Spar with me.”

She paused.

Turning away from the practice dummy, Melody stared at Chiron in utter disbelief. He had that same small smile, the same relaxed posture. There was no judgement, no gloating, no suspicion— only the assurance that he knew he was right, and that she would do as he asked.

“ _ You’re _ going to fight me?”

“We’re going to  _ spar _ ,” Chiron clarified, already sliding into an offensive stance. “If I win, you tell me what’s wrong.”

“No, thanks,” she said with a watery chuckle, shaking her head. “I’ve seen you spar with Achilles before. I don’t stand a chance.”

Heartbroken and moody she might be, but not stupid. Chiron was a trainer of heroes, adept in both hand-to-hand combat and archery. Even though she’d been training with the other Masters and some of the servants, Melody couldn’t hold a candle to his experience and physical prowess.

“Alright, then. Try landing one hit, and I won’t ask you again. Just one,” he suggested. “It appears Cu Chulainn is late for training today, anyways. Consider this my assessment of your abilities.”

The observation that Cu was late stung in more than one way. Melody shrugged, squaring up into a fighting stance. “Okay. Fine. Let’s do this.”

After all, there was nothing left to lose at this point.

Going against her usual defensive strategy, Melody threw the first punch, aiming for his left shoulder.

Blocked.

“Focus,” Chiron chided. “Anticipate your opponent’s movements before they strike.”

She barely managed to dodge a kick from her left, even though she knew Chiron wasn’t using anywhere near the speed he was physically capable of. The dodge caught Melody off balance, and she almost fell, but Chiron grabbed her hand and pulled her upright at the last second.

“Again,” he said firmly, without giving her time to think of how different his training style was than Cu or Emiya, who both would have let her fall on her ass a few times before explaining how to dodge properly.

This time she saw the slight muscle tension that preceded the kick, jumping to the side with time to aim a punch before Chiron fully recovered, though she knew he was moving at a snail’s pace compared to his usual speed. He caught her fist effortlessly in his hand.

“You have to reach through the pain. Don’t let it blind you.”

His words were calm, but his grip was shocking. Using Melody’s fist as a contact point, Chiron twisted her arm and pulled her in closer, one of his arms wrapped around her neck, Melody’s back to his chest. Adjusting for the height difference, she changed her stance and pulled, shifting Chiron up and over her shoulder and down onto the mat. He recovered freakishly quickly, on his feet again in no time.

“Good. Now, block.”

Chiron struck out at the same time that he spoke, barely giving Melody enough time to respond before his punch hit its mark. She managed to block, but stumbled again, off balance and reeling backwards form the impact. For the second time, he pulled her to her feet.

“Again.”

Strike. Block. Strike.

“Remember to guard your face.”

Block. Strike. Catch. Strike. Block.

“Again.”

Strike. Block. Strike.

The blows continued until her muscles shook from fatigue and the only thing on her mind was Chiron’s muscle movements, attempts to find his tells, making sure she wasn’t telegraphing her own punches, and keeping him at bay for another strike. Eventually, when she was tired enough that her arms trembled from exertion, he nodded his approval.

“You did well.” He relaxed his stance, looking for all the world like he was finished and satisfied with their sparring match.

Melody lowered her hands by a fraction, muscles relaxing ever so slightly… and suddenly found herself on the mat, air knocked from her lungs and Chiron’s long hair hanging in her face, his blue eyes the only thing that she could see clearly. She struggled to breathe for a moment before gasping for air, unsure how he’d managed to pin her so quickly, his hands on her wrists keeping her from struggling.

“I win,” Chiron said with a small smile, though there was no malice or conceit in his voice. He pushed himself up to his feet before offering her a hand. “That is why you should never relax when your opponent still is on their feet. You did get in one hit, though, so I won’t make you talk.”

“You did that on purpose, didn’t you…?” she grumbled, annoyed that he’d decided to go easy on her, after all. Despite his dirty trick at the end, Melody understood that he’d only been using a fraction of his real power during the match. She took his hand and struggled to her feet, rubbing her wrists where she could still feel the ghost of his touch.

“Why didn’t you let me fall?” She asked, still confused. Chiron shrugged.

“Some days you need to fall to learn. Some days a fall might break you. As a teacher, it’s my job to know which days are which. Now…” Chiron walked over behind Melody, his hands on her shoulders. “Let’s adjust that stance.”

A pang went through Melody’s chest, voice choked off by a sudden wave of emotion, but she nodded and let Chiron’s gentle hands move the tension from her shoulders and place her weight back in balance.

“I’ve never trained a woman before,” he said quietly, his tone calm and soothing. “Your center of balance is different.”

“Closer to the hips,” Melody rasped, still swallowing her tears. He didn’t say a word about her muscle tension, not a single thing about focus, but his subtle adjustments and gentle touch worked the fire from her bones, and the stiffness from her joints, leaving a cool kind of emptiness in its wake. She tried to blink away a straggling tear, but failed, and it rolled down her cheek. If he saw, he pretended not to notice.

“Yes.” Out of the corner of her eye, Chiron nodded. “Now, aim at the target.”

Melody raised her arm, but Chiron stopped her halfway, shaking his head.

“Not like that. Visualize the path of your arrow with your mind. See it land. It’s even more important for you because your arrows are nearly invisible. Do you see it?”

Melody paused, taking a deep breath that served to push all other things out of her mind. She couldn’t let anything else get in the way of training. Her emotions were secondary to saving the world.

“I... Yes,” she said slowly.

“Good. Now, don’t raise your hand, but release.”

“Don’t raise…” she murmured unconsciously, vaguely concerned. Despite both Waver and Cu’s best efforts, her accuracy wasn’t great on the best of days, and he wanted her to fire without physically aiming? The instruction threw her off, but she visualized an arrow above her, heard the tight, controlled sound of a piccolo floating above her head… and released.

A band of focused pink light, screaming out a high A flat, soared towards the target and landed in a narrow circle just to the right of the bull’s eye. Melody stared in disbelief, the emotional blockage in her chest suddenly draining off into some kind of soothing numbness, but Chiron smiled.

“I’ve watched you train before. If you can hear pitches in your head well enough to magically mimic them, you don’t need your arm to shoot at a target. It’s a crutch, and it’s throwing off your aim. Try again.” He stood to the side, where Melody couldn’t see him, but if she closed her eyes, she found that the rhythm of his breathing, of his  _ heartbeat _ , gave him away. Sound was all around her if she knew where to listen for it and didn’t give herself away to the wash of senses when there was too  _ much _ sound.

She listened for her own breathing and heartbeat and for Chiron’s, taking solace in the unevenness of their rhythm, trying to slow her own to match his sense of calm. The arrow formed above her head, and as Melody let out a breath, she released.

“Bull’s eye!”

The voice came from behind her, and she jumped in surprise, all the work of calming her heart rate gone in an instant. Her focus had been so narrow that she hadn’t heard Cu’s footsteps as he finally entered the training area, Jillian trailing behind. The stinging feeling from before came back, though now it seemed dulled, less like a knife in her ribs and more like stones in her gut.

“Nice shot,” Jillian said, shooting her a thumbs-up, which Melody returned shakily.

“You’ve really made progress, kid,” Cu said with a nod. “Have you been working with her?” he asked Chiron, who looked disapproving. Melody twitched yet again at him calling her a kid, looking down at the ground in dismay.

“Only because you were late today. As I said, I’m not in the business of sniping students.” There was no malice in his voice, but his tone  _ was _ carefully measured, as if feeling out Cu’s current mood.

“I didn’t know how to help her,” Cu admitted, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. “I’m not used to weapons that don’t require… weapons…”

“Um, I’m just gonna…” Melody said quietly, “I’m going to go. I’m not feeling very well.”

“Are you okay? I can walk you to the infirmary—” Cu began, but Melody shook her head.

“I don’t think we need Roman to fuss over this one,” she said with a shrug. “I just… didn’t sleep well. I’ll be fine.”

“I’ll go with her,” Chiron offered. “Go take care of your training. You still have a student.”

Cu looked uncomfortable for a moment before nodding, letting Chiron lead Melody out of the room. Once they reached the doors, Melody turned down the hallway towards her room, feeling a little awkward. Chiron wasn’t one to pry for information, so they walked in silence.

“You don’t have to walk me all the way to my room,” she said quietly. “I’m really fine; I’m just being silly.”

“Master, if I may speak frankly?” Chiron asked with a sigh.

Melody looked up at him quickly before nodding. Whatever he wanted to say was fine with her.

“Even Heracles wasn’t strong all the time… if you understand.”

Melody let that sink in for the rest of the walk back to her room. She wanted to say that she didn’t feel strong at all, that she felt like the weakest of the bunch. The support, the fodder, the completely useless member who could barely even control her magic. However, she didn’t dare say that to anyone, not when they were counting on the whole team to save the world. They needed her in top form, not an emotional wreck like this. When they made it to the door of her room, instead of saying a word, she simply turned and wrapped her arms around Chiron’s waist.

“You’re the best,” she said, voice muffled against his tunic. After a moment of hesitation, she felt his arms wrap around her, gently patting her back.

“Get some rest.”

* * *

 

**The Same Day, Back in the Training Area.**

Melody was… off today. Clearly.

Jillian wondered what was wrong, but from the looks of it, she might have had some sort of anxiety attack. That would be understandable, considering the massive amount of stress they were all under. She seemed shaken, stiff, but it was always a little hard to tell with her. When she didn’t care if you knew how she was feeling, she wore every emotion on her sleeve. When she didn’t want you to know something, she was damn good at hiding it.

“I know that look,” Cu said. “You know you wear your thoughts like a book, right?”

Unfortunately, Jillian was  _ not _ good at hiding it.

“I’m just worried,” she said with a huff, gaze trained on the doors as they swung closed. At least Chiron was with her. He seemed like a pretty levelheaded guy, and maybe he could use some kind of emotional crowbar and figure out what was going on.

“Yep, that’s pretty clear.”

“I’ll check on her later. Didn’t seem like she was in a talking mood…” Jillian finally turned away from the doors and went back to looking at Cu, who tossed her a staff. During training, he didn’t normally use Gae Bolg, considering it would snap their practice weapons like toothpicks, so they both used the heavy wooden staffs or fought hand-to-hand.

“So, what kind of normal date are you taking me on?” Jillian asked, blocking Cu’s first attack.

“Eh, I don’t know,” Cu said as drew back, whirling around to strike again. “You’re gonna have to clarify exactly what normal means for me before I decide that.”

“I don’t know— normal is…  _ normal _ ?” Jillian said, very unhelpfully. She stepped forward and struck twice, casting out a line of thread that wrapped around Cu’s staff. “I’m not the most experienced, but it usually involves dinner and talking, or just some kind of fun outing… I don’t know. It’s Chaldea, so we’ll probably have to be creative to even be alone for a while— ahh!”

She shrieked as Cu turned his strength against her, grabbing the thread and yanking her in towards him before she could disengage or attempt to pull his staff from his hands as intended. A mischievous smile crossed his face as he leaned in close, speaking softly into her ear.

“Oh, trust me, I can be  _ plenty _ creative when we’re alone.”

“Cu!” Jillian screeched, smacking his arm gently. He laughed loudly at that, pulling away. As soon as she was at striking distance, Jillian lashed out with her staff, though she didn’t manage to get in a single hit even while he was laughing.

“Ah, she’s cute when she’s angry  _ and _ when she’s flustered. What a catch,” he said, still smiling.

“Gee, thanks.”

Cu went for a series of strikes after that, only three of which Jillian managed to block, and the last of which landed her on her ass on the mats. Well, it was nice to know that some things never changed, she supposed. Just because she knew about Cu’s feelings didn’t mean he was about to go easy on her.

Actually, now that she thought about it…

“Can I ask you something that’s going to potentially sound really stupid but is an actual, honest question?” She slowly pulled herself to her feet, brushing off her hands.

“Besides that one?” Cu rolled his eyes, but made a gesture for her to go ahead.

“You’re a heroic spirit. You’ve done all these great, incredible things. Why… why me?” she asked, wincing. She was a nobody Master from place that wasn’t even around when he was alive. She’d never done anything great in her life. Luck and happenstance placed her here, not some kind of heroic feat.

Cu stared at her for a long moment before he gave a sigh, scratching at the back of his neck awkwardly.

“What’s that the old bard likes to run around mumbling?” he muttered. “Something about being born great?”

“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them,” Jillian quoted. She might not read a lot of Shakespeare, but she knew that line. Cu nodded.

“Right. Well, if I had to put us all into categories, I’d say most of the heroic spirits are the first one. They were born with prophecies already hanging over their heads, like me. We already knew what we needed to do.”

“Great,” Jillian deadpanned. Because that made her feel  _ so _ much better. It was like some kind of weird social class division from the Renaissance, but instead it was a difference in fate. Just not destined for greatness.

“I’d say you and your Master friends are in the last category,” Cu said with a shrug, either ignoring her tone or entirely missing the implications.

“You think we had greatness thrust upon us?” Jillian said with a snort. “Right, because five nobodies still trying to figure out what kind of job they want are going to achieve greatness.”

“Jill… you don’t have a choice but to achieve greatness,” Cu said quietly, his expression gone suddenly soft. Something cold and heavy settled in the pit of Jillian’s stomach. “You weren’t the team that was supposed to do it, but you’re the team that will, and you’re all rising to the challenge.”

“What if we can’t?” Jillian said shakily, finally voicing the looming fear in the back of her mind, so great that she hadn’t even dared to say it before.

“Well, that’s a pointless question,” Cu scoffed. “You want to live? You save the world. It’s as simple as that. You’ve had greatness thrown into your lap. Go do something with it.”

Jillian paused for a moment, letting his words sink in.

Greatness thrown into their laps… Well, he wasn’t wrong. The problem was learning how to become strong enough to do what that demanded of them. All of them had different lives and backgrounds, and learning to work as a team as well as with their servants was a challenge in and of itself, outside of the day to day emotional stress. No one ever talked about how much anxiety superheroes must have while they were trying to save the world.

A movement out of the corner of her eye made her jump, automatically bracing herself to block a strike from Cu.

“Good. Stay on your toes, babe.”

Jillian blushed at the term of endearment, slightly flustered by how comfortable he seemed showing affection. Then again, he was a bit of a flirt, so she probably should have expected it. The implications of his speech still ringing in her ears, Jillian realized something else.

“You know, I still don’t think you answered my question,” she said, feinting to the left. Cu easily blocked her hit meant to make contact with his right shoulder, pushing her back away from him with incredible force.

“Why do I have to have a specific reason to like you? You’re determined, and stubborn, and you’re pretty fun to tease,” he said with a smirk. “You’re just thinking too much about it. Just… let’s see where it goes.”

For a moment, she wasn’t sure if his casual attitude made things better or worse. However, having someone around her who wouldn’t blink in the face of battle or romance was oddly comforting. He was right: there wasn’t a point in rushing things. After all, there was absolutely no telling how long they would be stuck in this place. Seeing where things went might cause her anxiety in the uncertainty, but there was a different kind of anxiety in jumping into a sense of permanence, especially with her whole life in flux. Starting with something sincere but noncommittal was exactly what she needed at the moment, and maybe it was what he needed, too.

Jillian continued to block his blows, continued to land on her ass on the mats. However, she did get in one or two hits, which meant that he thought her technique had been especially good. He wouldn’t have let her hit him, otherwise, and she knew he let her. Her scant months of training couldn’t stand up to the lifetimes of battles and magic powers that Heroic Spirits possessed.

However, even knowing that, the rhythm of their sparring was soothing, familiar. The burn in her muscles gave her something else to focus on besides the world falling to pieces around her, made her feel stronger and more capable, and though she knew that Cu was undoubtedly someone who would let her fall again and again… She knew he wouldn’t let her be hurt. Every failure was one more notch on the track to becoming better, stronger, and more capable.

Perhaps that was how she should think of their relationship, too. There might be mountains ahead, but they would find a way to climb them together.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey so I updated REALLY LATE last week so have this chapter kinda early. I don't really know what my update day is any more. It's still once a week, though.


	9. In Which Jillian is Spider Man

_Suggested Listening: Angel by Theory of a Deadman_

* * *

**The Missing Year: Week 19, Day 3**

**Singularity: London, Day 1**

London already felt less like a pain than Okeanos, but that could be due to a few different factors. The fog was terrible, true, but between Melody’s music and Jeanne’s high curse tolerance, it was bearable. They weren’t slogging through a forest with one seasick team member, didn’t have to camp out in the wilderness with thirty long-dead, disease-ridden bug species flying around them, and Cu was _significantly_ less moody this time around.

Actually, Cu’s mood only seemed to be improving recently, which made sense when you considered why he’d been so moody in the first place. Running through the London streets just made him giddy, laughing as he dispatched automatons with Raikou. Achilles was off scouting the city for information, which also probably improved his mood. He wasn’t as twitchy around him as Emiya, but until he got used to the fact that Jillian was starting to see Achilles as an older brother figure, Cu would probably be a little tense around him.

While Achilles scouted the skies, Grant had taken his team to the north side of the city, while Joseph and Hannah went west. Jillian and Melody teamed up and worked their way through the south side, but they hadn’t gotten far. There were, _weirdly_ , too many robots for them to make progress quickly, and Joseph had radioed in with reports of a particularly scary child assassin hiding in the fog.

Eventually, in an effort to both escape the automatons and get a better view of the city, they made their way up to the rooftops, climbing ladders and fire escapes until they found themselves above the smog, looking at a layout of the city. It was a little difficult to see, but it was better than blindly traversing city streets, and they could keep a lookout for Achilles this way.

“Alright, so we rooftop hop like Mary Poppins?” Jillian asked, looking around, though none of the servants seemed to understand the reference. She kept forgetting that their modern knowledge didn’t include pop culture… Melody shrugged and walked towards the edge of the roof slowly, apparently examining the distance. Her eyes went wide and her muscles rigid.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck…” Melody backpedaled away from the edge of the roof all the way until she backed into Chiron’s chest. Cu leaned precariously over the side, peering down with a low whistle.

“Servants can jump that distance, easy, but we’ve got to get you Masters across,” Cu said, shouldering his spear.

“Yep,” Melody squeaked.

“She’s afraid of heights. Vertigo. _Bad_ ,” Jillian whispered to a very confused Jeanne.

“I see.”

“First boats, now rooftop hopping,” Melody said with a groan, obviously trying to look anywhere but down. “If I had a rope or something, I’d be fine. I _rock climb_! But just kind of standing here… is not the best…” she trailed off.

A rope…

Jillian had an idea.

“I know that look,” Melody said, eyebrows raised. “That’s a horrible plan. I know we were joking about you having Spider Man powers, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.”

“I’ve been practicing, though!” Jillian protested. “Come on, let me try.”

Cu simply shrugged, dematerializing his lance as he set up to jump. “You won’t learn if you don’t try.”

“Testing new tactics mid-mission is not advisable, except during dire emergencies.” Chiron didn’t turn from his lookout post, but his disapproval was obvious.

“Well, I don’t see another option, so here I go!”

As Melody watched anxiously, Jillian sent out threads that attached themselves to a smokestack on the other rooftop. She pulled on it, testing for security, before giving a thumbs up. At the last second, she grabbed Cu and pulled him next to her, barely leaving time to tell him to hold on before launching them both off the roof.

They swung in an arc across the empty space, the thread holding strong even with both their weights on a thin string. It felt like flying and falling at once, and she had just enough time to wonder if this was what it felt like to be Spider Man or Tarzan…

… before promptly smacking into the brick wall about a meter below the edge of the next roof.

The impact jolted through her like a shock, knocking the air from her lungs as if she’d hit the ground instead of the wall.

“Jillian?! Are you okay?” Melody called, but she couldn’t quite take in enough air to form a response yet, so she simply nodded and hoped they were close enough for her to see. It was a good thing her threads were lashed tightly to her hand. Otherwise, she might have let go.

Beside her, Cu let out a groan that turned into a laugh.

“I admit, I didn’t expect for you to take me with you.”

“Well, I wasn’t gonna try it alone!” Jillian grumbled, casting a second set of threads up. A thick, white rope fell down beside Cu. “Grab on and brace your feet. I can’t walk both of us up a wall.”

With the help of a little magical pulling, they managed to use the rope to walk themselves up the remainder of the building and pull their bodies over the ledge, landing on the cement rooftop in a fit of relieved laughter. Jillian never quite expected “laughing because you once more scathed out of death” to become a regular part of her set of emotions, but it seemed to be an especially frequent occurrence of late.

Cu shook his head, but he was smiling. “Next time, adjust the length of the rope.”

“Definitely. I don’t want a repeat of that.” Jillian rubbed the back of her neck, still a little sore from the impact.

“That’s one way to handle it, I suppose,” Chiron said with a shrug from the other side of the gap.

“Well, how do _you_ plan on rooftop hopping?” Cu asked, eyebrows raised. Jillian thought she might be able to cast a rope bridge, but she knew that wouldn’t help Melody’s fear of heights or vertigo. Chiron turned to Melody and said something inaudible from that distance, but she nodded hesitantly. He gestured to Jeanne, for a moment, who shook her head.

“What are they—” Jillian began, but cut off as Chiron swooped up Melody in his arms and took a running start, leaping across the roof like a gazelle. “Oh. Well _that’s_ impressive.”

Did Heroic Spirits gain extra powers after their deaths, or could they do things like that in life, too? After all, Jeanne’s flag obviously wasn’t magical in her lifetime, but her noble phantasm was a materialization of an idea that she embodied while holding it. Maybe their physical abilities were, in part, fortified by the legends surrounding them and what people believed they were like during their lives. That seemed like a mostly logical conclusion, especially after Melody gave her notes she’d taken on Cu’s potential noble phantasms. If they ever ran into a singularity in Ireland, it would be nearly impossible to beat Cu due to his legend’s prominence there.

Despite his size and carrying extra weight, Chiron landed lightly, and Jillian noticed that Melody’s eyes were squeezed shut. She opened them hesitantly clearly waiting to bet set back on her feet, but her Archer showed no signs of letting her go. Behind them, Jeanne and Raikou took their turns jumping, quickly followed by little Medea, who floated over the gap with ease.

“Um, Chiron… you can put me down now,” Melody said quietly, looking a little uncomfortable.

“That would be pointless, considering I’ll have to pick you up to cross the next several rooftops, unless you’d prefer to use Jillian’s method?” he raised an eyebrow, and Jillian couldn’t help but giggle as Melody blanched. No, swinging across rooftops probably wasn’t her thing, though Jillian mentally swore to herself that she wouldn’t hit a wall next time. She’d get better.

“It’s just… aren’t I heavy?” Melody asked sheepishly. Jillian rolled her eyes.

“ _I_ can lift you. I’m sure that Chiron of the Impressively Strong Arms has no trouble.”

“I’d imagine you only weigh a little more than two talents.” Chiron said, shrugging. “It would be more trouble to continually pick you up and put you down. Just stay still and hold tight, Master.” He adjusted her weight so she was a little more upright, and Melody hesitantly put her arms around him, blushing furiously.

“What’s a talent?” Jillian hissed.

“Ancient Greek measurement. I don’t know the conversion off the top of my head.” Melody said. She seemed to be very pointedly avoiding Chiron’s eyes, and Jillian suddenly had the thought that they looked… Well, kind of cute together.

Then again, if someone decided to pick _her_ up, she’d probably avoid their eyes, too.

“We should keep moving, Master,” Jeanne said, already heading towards the next rooftop. Chiron took off behind her like a shot.

“Okay, gotta aim higher this time…” Jillian muttered, casting her threads. This time, she jumped as high as possible while she swung, tightening the threads midair to adjust for her weight stretching them out.

However, she forgot to actually let go.

Instead of swinging over to the opposite roof, she swung back over to the previous roof like a pendulum, and then couldn’t quite swing all the way back to where she was meant to be. Thus, Jillian hung in the air, pumping her legs back and forth like a toddler on a swing set while Cu laughed from the rooftops below. Eventually, she did make it to the other side, but it wasn’t as efficient as it might have been, if much less painful that her previous attempt.

“At least you didn’t hit the wall, babe,” Cu said, patting her back gently even as he continued to chuckle.

“As I said, testing new tactics mid-mission is inadvisable,” Chiron muttered.

“I agree, but I don’t think you’re going to win this one.” Melody patted his shoulder gently. “We should keep going.”

“I’m gonna get this, I swear!” Jillian smiled brightly, running off towards the edge of the next roof. This time, luckily, she did make the jump, even if her landing was a little rough. Cu caught her on the other side as she slid, planting a quick kiss on her cheek before he let go.

“Good job. Now, don’t stop moving. I think I see green lightning up ahead— let’s go meet up with our scout.”

Jillian whooped, chasing off after him with a smile, each jump more successful than the last. After all, there was too much death and sorrow around them, especially during the singularities. The least she could do to stave off the darkness for a little while was to relish in the good moments they had, whether that was a meal with a band of pirates or the fleeting rush of the London air across her face as she jumped from rooftop to rooftop, chasing Achilles’ lightning across the city.

* * *

**The Missing Year: Week 22, Day 3**

Jillian arrived at the training room early one morning, much earlier than her usual afternoon training slot with Cu. Normally, she would prefer not to be out of bed this early, and stayed up late into the night getting any training or work done that she needed to do, but Melody had invited her to watch Achilles and Chiron spar, and she _really_ wanted to see.

When she approached the training area, she found Melody already seated on a bench at the side of the room while Chiron and Achilles

“Mornin’, Master!” Achilles said with a wave, flashing a bright smile. Jillian still felt a little groggy, but she was glad to see someone in such a good mood. Chiron nodded his own hello while Melody beckoned her over, patting the spot next to her on the bench.

“Come on, have a seat.”

“Master, don’t forget what I told you,” Chiron said pointedly.

“I won’t, don’t worry.” Melody smiled, shooing them off. “Go spar. We’ll be careful.”

“ _We’ll_ be careful?” Jillian asked, suddenly nervous. “What do _we_ need to be careful for?”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve got this,” Melody said, brushing it off.

“Are you ready, Achilles?” Chiron asked, moving out to the center of the floor and dropping into a fighting stance. Achilles followed, already smiling. It was obvious that this wasn’t only training to him—it was _fun_. He always loved a good challenge, and Chiron was one of the few, if not the only person, who could match his strength in hand-to-hand combat. Today, however, they chose to use their weapons.

“Hey, Master, keep your eyes on me, alright?” Achilles said confidently, never looking away from Chiron.

“Flamboyant as always.” Chiron smirked, taking a fighting stance. In only a moment, they were off like a blur.

“Go get him, Achilles,” Jillian cheered encouragingly. According to Melody, their sparring normally ended in a draw more than a clear winner, but that was alright. Jillian knew he liked the attention, especially because this was the first time she’d come to see them spar. Melody watched regularly when the servants and Masters trained, trying to gather information for battle strategies. Right now, they both sat on the benches at the side of the large training area. Jillian thought this was the best way to fulfill several goals at once— checking up on Melody, giving Achilles some attention, and gaining some strategy knowledge for herself. Beside her, Melody just smiled, eyes following Chiron’s movements as they darted around the room at lightning speed.

Jillian jumped as an arrow embedded itself in the wall a short distance above their heads, automatically ducking. If she wasn’t quite awake before, then she _certainly_ was now. Melody hadn’t even flinched from the impact, though.

“He won’t hit us,” she said calmly. “I have a shield up because he asked me to, but he won’t. That arrow hit out of the shield’s range. See?” Melody appeared to knock on the air around them, causing a shimmering ripple that outlined a dome shape.

Just as the ripples faded, though, a round, metal circle came flying towards them. Melody fortified her barrier and Achilles’ shield bounced off the far side of the dome, rolling back towards him. Jillian flinched and started to move to the side, even though it was far too slow to avoid a hit if the shield wasn’t in place.

“Achilles, please don’t murder me Captain America style!” Jillian said with a groan, slumping against the wall as she continued muttering to Melody, who seemed oddly calm. “I think I just saw my life flash before my eyes… I thought you said he wouldn’t hit us.”

“ _That’s_ why I wanted you to have a shield, Master,” Chiron called.

“I know, I know!” Melody sighed, her eyes never leaving the fight. “I said _Chiron_ won’t hit us. He could tell me he was going to shoot an apple off my head from a mile away and I’d let him. _Achilles_ can get a little reckless when he’s focused on one enemy. He’s used to bigger battlefields.”

“You _really_ trust him…”

“I kind of have to. He’s continually covering my ass when we go out on missions, and he’s never failed me once,” Melody said proudly.

“He seems protective,” Jillian mused.

“So does Cu,” Melody pointed out, not even glancing upwards as another arrow came towards them, landing in the wall to their left. Jillian cringed, gaze sliding over to the arrow.

“Cu’s just reckless.” She gave a snort before laughing good-naturedly. “He won’t let anything happen to me, but he’s not as much of a sheer protector figure. He’s not the kind of guy that would tell you to shield while watching a sparring match, you know?”

“Good point.” Slumping a little, Melody’s gaze flashed from Achilles to Chiron and back again before she suddenly called out to their servants. “Chiron, parry left and drop!”

“Yes!”

At first, it wasn’t clear what she meant. Achilles threw his spear into the distance, tossing it aside in favor of using his fists for close-range combat. Jillian watched as Chiron responded to the warning, blocking a punch from Achilles and ducking under a kick with blinding speed, using the force of his opponent’s own momentum to flip him over his shoulder.

“Spear!” Melody called.

Chiron jumped just in time to avoid a boomerang shot from the spear that his opponent had appeared to toss aside earlier. Achilles recovered in a flash, catching his spear as it flew back around the room, but sighed as he rubbed his jaw, moving back into a fighting stance.

“How the _fuck_ did you know he was gonna do that?” Jillian hissed.

“Am I telegraphing again?” Achilles called, glancing towards her briefly.

“Yeah, a little. Not as much, but that feint combo tripped Chiron last time, so I saw it coming. Your jaw tenses and your eyes follow where you’re going to punch, not where you feint.” Melody turned to Jillian with a little shrug, rubbing her shoulder awkwardly. “I’ve been watching them for weeks.”

“If you ever feel like learning pankration, feel free to join us, Master,” Achilles said with a rakish smile before surging forward once more.

“ _I don’t want to spar with them_ ,” Jillian said quietly, shaking her head with wide eyes. It looked like a death wish to her. After all, the name of the fighting style translated as _all-force_ , or so Achilles said. Those two looked like people she didn’t want to mess with in _any_ form of fighting, especially one where they were specifically trying to use all their strength in focused ways.

“They go easy, don’t worry,” Melody said with a laugh. “They won’t fight you at full power.”

“How often do _you_ fight them?” Jillian’s eyebrows shot up, surprised. Melody had been getting stronger recently, and her fighting stance had changed a little, but Cu hadn’t mentioned much about it. She knew he’d noticed, because he noticed _everything_ when it came to fighting, but he hadn’t made a point to call her out on it in practice. However, now that she stood here watching Achilles spar, there were some obvious similarities between their fighting stances and Melody’s newfound sense of balance during training.

“Eh… three times a week?” she admitted sheepishly.

“Are you doing double training?” Jillian blinked, astonished.

“I alternate days with Cu and Chiron,” Melody said quietly, suddenly finding something very interesting to look at somewhere on the floor mats.

“ _That’s_ why your fighting style changed.” Jillian felt a little silly for not having noticed it, but Chiron and Achilles rarely fought hand-to-hand in combat on missions, and it was difficult to concentrate on fighting styles while you were also trying to save your own neck in the middle of a battle.

“I think it works a little better, especially since I don’t really have any physical weapons. Achilles and Chiron have been helping me figure out how to channel sound waves into punches. I actually sent him flying last week.”

Jillian winced as Achilles did the exact same thing to Chiron that Melody had described, sending him crashing into a wall. He bounced back with lightning speed, as if the impact hadn’t even bothered him, but it certainly looked painful.

“Ouch…” she muttered.

“Yeah, I felt really terrible about it, but Achilles laughed his ass off— _Achilles, jump_!”

“Thanks!” He managed to dodge a low kick, but Chiron caught him midair and pulled him back down, going off again with a series of punches. It was surprising to see Melody playing both sides, but it suddenly dawned on her that Melody wasn’t here to support either one of them. She was here to learn, and to help improve her own fighting style, so it made sense that she’d point out giveaways to either party.

“I get the feeling this is gonna take a while…” Jillian said, nodding.

“They went on for hours the first time I watched. I set a twenty-minute timer for them and they go in rounds now,” she said with a laugh.

As she spoke, the timer went off, cell phone beeping with a shrill tone.

“Alright, boys, that’s time!” she called. Both men skidded to a stop, breathing heavily and brushing off their hands. She opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a terrible growling noise coming from her stomach. Melody blushed furiously while Jillian and Achilles laughed, a rolling belly laugh that she desperately needed after the long week they’d both had. Chiron just looked skeptical.

“I told you that you need to eat breakfast, Master.”

The glare he received in return was cold enough to freeze Grant’s fire magic.

“Want to go get breakfast?” Jillian asked. “I know you didn’t eat, and it’s not just because of your stomach growling.”

“Sure, sure,” Melody grumbled, but Jillian knew her friend wasn’t really offended. She just hated being called out on her bad habits as much as any other person.

“Thanks for letting me watch. I might come to one of your sessions later this week,” she said to the two servants, standing from the bench.

“We’d be happy to have you,” Achilles said with a smile. Chiron nodded his agreement.

“Drop by any time.”

“Bye, Achilles! See you later, Chiron!” Melody waved as they headed out into the hallway, leaving their servants to the sparring session.  


* * *

 

“So, teacher,” Achilles said, shouldering his spear. “When exactly do you plan on sweeping your Master off her feet?”

“What are you suggesting?” Chiron asked, shaking his head. “That would be highly inappropriate.”

“Why? Because you’re the servant and she’s your Master, or because you’re her teacher and she’s a student?”

“Both.”

“If anything, I’d say that balances the power dynamic…” he muttered.

“Achilles, you are as persistent as ever,” Chiron shook his head, dematerializing his bow as he stretched, intending to bring the conversation to an end.

“You did hear her, right? _‘He could tell me he was going to shoot an apple off my head from a mile away, and I’d let him_ ,’” he quoted. “That’s some trust.”

“I’m her teacher and her partner in battle. A certain amount of trust is necessary.”

“She trusts you with her _life_. Remind me how long you’ve known her?” Achilles asked pointedly, but didn’t wait for Chiron to respond. “Oh, right. About two and half months.”

“Your point, Achilles?” Chiron asked curtly.

“You’ve clearly bonded. You should snag her before someone else does… Like that knight with the mole. He seems to have a knack with women and a gallant nature to match.”

“Diarmuid makes her uncomfortable,” Chiron said immediately. “She says the pull of her mana trying to resist the curse feels like swimming through a thick soup, and it makes her thoughts hazy.”

“I saw her talking to him the other day…” Achilles murmured, puzzled.

“Was she with Jeanne?”

Chiron waited a moment for the question to click, nodding when realization dawned on his former student. Jeanne’s resistance to curses was sky high. Having her in close range while speaking with Diarmuid should mitigate if not altogether dispel the effects of his curse.

“See, _this_ is why you need to go after her. I mean, she might look like a little like a loli, but she’s young and pretty and obviously would put her life in your hands in a heartbeat. Wonder what else she’d put in your hands, hm? Get those old bones kicking again?”

Chiron glared. He knew that _Achilles_ knew that a casual relationship wasn’t something he would pursue with anyone he considered a student. More than likely, it was meant to be a push to get him talking, just enough to slide him over the ledge.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite _enough_ of a push.

“Are you suggesting that I’m _old_?”

“I tell you that you should be gunning to mana transfer with your Master, and what you get out of it is that I’m calling you a cradle robber?” Achilles deadpanned. “Now you’re just _purposefully_ trying to change the subject.”

“Yes, I am,” he said bluntly, “and while I’m at it, you seem to have forgotten one of the key rules of pankration.”

“What’s tha—” Achilles cut off with a groan as Chiron’s fist slammed into his stomach, sending him flying across the room.

“Never let your guard down while your enemy still stands,” Chiron said with a smile. There was, amazingly, not a single drop of malice in his tone. Achilles coughed, pulling himself up off the floor as a wry laugh tumbled from his lips.

“Alright, I probably deserved that.” He rolled his shoulders and stretched, shaking off the hit as if it was nothing at all. “But teacher… you should take the advice your Master gave me.”

“What’s that?” He kept his tone measured, but he was genuinely confused, replaying Melody’s comments in the back of his mind.

“She said my eyes gave me away, remember? Yours do, too. You always watch her when one of my attacks goes out of bounds, to make sure it doesn’t hit her, even though you told her to shield and you know it works. It’s the only reason you missed that feint last week that she warned you about today.”

“And so do hers,” Chiron murmured, his gaze wandering off into middle space as he remembered that day in the training room months ago. “She already had an interest in another servant that ended badly, and she has yet to fully recover. It would be worse for her emotional health to take on a casual partner right now than to work through it on her own.”

“Wait— who? Your Master is kinda difficult to read, you know.” Achilles leaned against the wall, tiling his head slightly as he smiled. “You like that about her, though, don’t you?”

“She is… a walking mass of contradictions,” Chiron admitted. “There’s a modern expression about lovers and fighters, but I have never met anyone who appears to be both.”

“Even harder to get your head around, if you ask me,” Achilles said with a huff, shaking his bangs out of his face.

“You _would_ think that, considering that yours is an open book,” he said with a smile. Everything that Jillian felt showed on her face, plain and clear as day. It was perfect for Achilles, who was just as open as she was, if not more so in some ways. “Do not worry. It was difficult to notice.”

A lie, if only partly. It was not difficult to notice on the day she came into the training area upset and emotionally raw. It was not difficult to see the way her eyes darted towards Cu Chulainn in battle, the way she blushed just a little at the tips of her ears when he adjusted her stance during training. He’d even noticed it on the beach at Okeanos, when she’d been unable to keep from sneaking glances towards the Lancer and his Master the first night that he’d met her, but at the time he’d interpreted it as general concern. Now he understood that it had really been a source of emotional conflict. He was entirely certain that she’d never said a single word about her affection to Jillian or Cu Chulainn, and in fact, she may have purposefully tried to hide it once she realized what Jillian felt. It was in her very nature to be self-sacrificial, something he was trying valiantly to work out of her fighting.

Achilles was wrong. Melody was not difficult to read once you learned how she showed emotion. She seemed childish in many ways, not only because of her stature, but because she darted around like a butterfly when she was happy or excited, unafraid to wear her heart on her sleeve. However, her smaller ticks and little gestures gave away when she felt something negative, as if she used her happy moments like a shield to guard her heart in times of trouble. She was intelligent, perceptive, and kind, but could not entirely guard herself. Jeanne’s presence made her feel calm, all the tension draining from her body when the Holy Maiden entered the room. Cu Chulainn still made her feel tense. Diarmuid, even more so. Both were belied only by the set of her shoulders, the tension in her jaw, and the stolen glances.

And yet, even knowing this, Chiron could not tell what she thought about him, or perhaps he didn’t want to know, for fear of what her ticks and tells might reveal to him.

“Well, even better. A shoulder to cry on…” Achilles continued, drawing him out of his thoughts.

“ _Achilles_ ,” Chiron said sharply. “It would be unwise to pursue any relationship of that nature while here at Chaldea. We have more important matters to attend to, and need I remind you that we are Heroic Spirits. Our Masters are humans. Our time has come and gone, and we only exist to provide aid in theirs.”

It was only after he left the room that it dawned on Achilles that his teacher never once denied his suspicions.

 


	10. In Which We Have Some Fluff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a short update this week in preparation for a longer update the next time around. Just wanted to take a second to thank everyone who has read this and commented! I didn't really expect anyone to actually sit down and read my for funsies fic, but I'm having a good time and I hope you all are too.
> 
> ... You get brownie points if you recognize where the suggested listening is from. Embrace my childhood romcom favs.

_Suggested Listening: The Best Day of My Life by Robert D Palmer_

_Diegetic Listening: The Blue Danube Waltz by Johann Strauss_

* * *

**The Missing Year: Week 24, Day 5**

Melody still trained regularly with Cu, but something didn’t feel the same. There was a strange amount of distance, and maybe it was her fault, or maybe it had always been there, only heightened by his newly obvious connection with Jillian. In any case, she felt isolated in training, and found herself seeking out Chiron more and more to ask for his guidance. It meant that she’d essentially doubled her training time and she was constantly exhausted, but his help moved her forward faster than anything she’d ever worked on with Cu.

They just seemed to click well. It was a refreshing feeling to have a trainer besides Waver that she felt could really understand her thought processes. As the days wore on, she found herself dreading training hours with Cu more and more, and she knew it was time to make a real decision.

Today she found him, completely by accident, in Chaldea’s library.

While jumping to reach for a book on a high shelf, she found herself suddenly at eye level with the book, only afterwards noticing the distinct pressure on her waist. Looking down, Melody saw a familiar face smiling up at her.

“Does this help?”

“Hey, Chiron,” she called out, slightly off balance, but his strong arms kept her steady. “Thanks for the lift!”

“You’re welcome,” Chiron replied, lowering her to the ground.

“I’ve been looking for you, actually,” she began slowly, shuffling a little from nervousness.

“Oh? How can I be of service, Master?”

“Will you train me?” you asked quietly. Chiron looked confused for a moment. “Officially, I mean. Would you be my trainer?”

“As in… instead of Cu Chulainn?”

“Yes,” she said with a nod. “It’s just that… I really like our training sessions, and I think you’re more helpful for me than he has been, plus then he can focus… on… Jillian…” Melody murmured, voice growing softer with every word. Chiron nodded slowly.

“Alright. If that’s what you wish, I would be happy to continue training you. We’ll start tomorrow at our usual time.”

“Great,” Melody said, heaving a sigh of relief as they made their way out of the library stacks. She returned to the table that she’d been compiling volumes on, trying to look for the most relevant topics to add to her servant notes.

“Thanks for helping with the book,” she said, placing it atop a stack of about ten other volumes.

“Are you collecting books?” Chiron asked, looking over the titles in the stack. They were mostly about myths and legends associated with the Heroic Spirits currently in Chaldea.

“I like reading, and I finished the novels I originally brought with me for the summer a long time ago…” she trailed off sadly, but quickly hid it with a smile. “I thought it would be a good idea to read up on our residents.” Melody picked up the large stack of books from the table with a helpless shrug, doing her best to balance the weight.

“Your commitment is admirable, but you should take care to rest. Your body will give out if you don’t take care of it,” Chiron said pointedly, taking the top half of the books from her. “Let’s go. I’ll carry these.”

Melody knew it was useless to protest. He would just lecture her in that infuriatingly calm voice until she gave in and did what he wanted, so it was best to just go along with it and save some time. She headed out of the library and towards her room, holding the stack of books to her chest. A few servants passed by in the hallway, waving hello as they went.

“I just don’t want to let anyone down,” she said quietly, glancing hesitantly over at Chiron.

“You’ve been doing double physical training for weeks. Don’t think I haven’t noticed. I’d assume you’re working just as hard on your magic, and spending all your free time studying servant history.”

“It’s just like grad school, don’t worry,” Melody said with a laugh, but she knew it didn’t sound sincere. He was right. Her sanity was already wearing thin, anxiety through the roof. At first she’d felt useless as a support member, but she’d slowly become someone that the team depended on, and refused to let them fall through because _she_ slacked.

“Master.”

She ignored his patronizing tone and kept walking.

“Melody.”

That made her stop, just for a moment.

“Big sister, big sister!”

A tiny voice called out from down the hallway. Running towards her with little Medea close behind was a little girl with long, silver hair, clad in a black dress and hat. They both laughed as they ran, calling out for Melody. Another child trailed close behind them, her short, white hair bouncing as she moved.

“Come and play hide and seek!” Medea said, grabbing Nursery Rhyme’s hand. Jack skidded to a halt behind them.

“It’s be fun! I’m _really_ good at seeking,” Jack said proudly.

Melody looked between the girls and Chiron for a moment. It wasn’t the first time he’d suggested that she needed a break, but this was the first time she’d had such a blatant opportunity. Without a word, Chiron reached out and took the stack of books she held.

“I think those girls will be good for you,” he said quietly. “I’ll drop these by your room.”

“Let’s go, let’s go!” Nursery Rhyme said, already pulling her by the hand.

“Thank you,” Melody said sincerely, smiling at Chiron before the girls led her away.

He was right, as usual. Having three little girls run you ragged playing hide and seek wasn’t exactly restful, but it certainly was a break. Eventually they caught up to Joseph, Jack’s Master, who joined them for the game. With Melody as Nursery Rhyme’s Master and the two of them getting along swimmingly with Medea’s younger self, it seemed as though the two youngest additions to their team were settling in well at Chaldea.

* * *

**The Missing Year: Week 26, Day 2**

No one was quite sure how Marie had managed to convince all of them to go along with her plan, but she had. Maybe it was because they’d gone long enough without a singularity appearing to drive them all a little stir crazy, and sometimes even going on smaller missions wasn’t enough to distract them from the cabin fever. Maybe it was because her charisma was through the roof, considering she was a queen, or maybe it was because none of them really had the heart to say no to her.

 _“You need to be children while you have the time to be children,”_ she’d said fondly, and not even Melody had the nerve to argue.

_“Celebrate while you can.”_

In any case, she had somehow managed to transform the largest of the training areas into a ballroom.

An actual ballroom, mind you, not something that looked like a high school dance in a gym. Jillian half suspected that Nero and Gilgamesh had something to do with the strange amount of gold and gilt suddenly in the room, but she wasn’t about to question it. They all needed a nice evening.

At the back of the room, Tamamo and Emiya organized the buffet table, and the smell was _incredibly_ tempting. Good food and good music would make for a nice, relaxing time. Maybe Marie was right to insist that they do this, after all.

“Shouldn’t this be something we do _after_ we save the world?” Grant asked, adjusting his suit jacket.

Melody opened her mouth to say something to him, but then closed it again, going back to fiddling with the speaker system. Jillian didn’t need her to speak in order to know exactly what she was thinking: they didn’t know if they would make it that long. They couldn’t afford to fail, but in the backs of their minds there was always a chance that they might.

Fitting that Marie threw the party, really. A queen who had regrets for living an easy life while the rest of her country suffered throwing a ball while the world burned outside? Well, no one needed an extra explanation for that kind of poetic irony. They all needed a break, though. Things had been tense around the base lately, and it had very little to do with the new servants adjusting to the atmosphere and a lot to do with the gloom and doom surrounding them at every turn.

“You guys did a great job with the outfits,” Joseph said, adjusting his white tuxedo.

“We didn’t really expect to find fabric in storage, but we made it work once we did,” Melody said with a smile, never taking her eyes off the sound board.

Their expedition down into storage for literally anything that would help appease Marie’s request for some kind of a formal ball had led to bolts and bolts of fabric stashed in a corner. Jillian could produce fabric on her own, but it took a long time to weave and it was a tiring process, so it was much more convenient to use her magic to stitch together already woven fabric than create her own. Unfortunately, all of the fabric was either plain black or plain white, obviously meant to be part of the uniform stock, which limited their design options, but they made it work. Servants were able to materialize different clothing, if they wanted to, but the Masters would be up the creek without a paddle if it wasn’t for Jillian and Melody.

From the stock of black and white fabric, they had managed to throw together outfits for the five of them, which Jillian found to be a welcome distraction. She was a little bitter that they hadn’t found the fabric _before_ creating a new supply of uniforms, but happy for the opportunity to design something and to work with Melody on sewing the pieces together. Joseph and Grant had opted for traditional dress clothes, while the girls all picked different dresses. With a combination of some clever designs and stripping the zippers from extra girls’ uniform skirts, they cobbled together something that earned them approval from Marie.

Jillian’s dress was black, not too long, with a wide V neck and long bell sleeves slashed up to the forearm. She felt a little like a witch, and she loved it. The flared skirt swished and twirled as she moved, highlighting her figure without being so cumbersome that she’d trip over the hem. Hannah also opted for a black dress, but hers was floor length and spaghetti strapped, featuring a slit on the left side that went to the top of her thigh and showed off her legs. Melody, on the other hand, picked a white dress, dark curls standing out against the pale fabric. She looked a little like the Sugar Plum Fairy, wearing a flared hi-low gown with ribbons crisscrossing over an open back, a bow tied at the bottom near her waist.

“Okay, I think we’re good. I’m going to start the classical playlist, and then we’ll swap out later,” she said with a nod, stepping back from the soundboard. Soft strains of an orchestra began to drift through the air as servants slowly filtered in, dressed to the nines in their own individual styles. After Marie got the Masters to agree, the rest of the inhabitants had decided to play along, though most of them were just as excited for the evening as Marie.

“Why don’t you just do that magic music thing?” Cu asked, from behind. Jillian turned, eyes going wide as she held back a gasp. He’d untied his hair and it fell freely down his back in a way that made her want to tangle her fingers in it. He had also put on a suit, and she wondered for a moment if she could convince him to wear it more often. Cu smirked, obviously very aware of her thoughts, and leaned down to kiss her cheek, whispering in her ear before he pulled away.

“You look fantastic, too, babe.”

“If you seriously expect me to be able to waltz _and_ keep a spell going, you’ve got another thing coming,” Melody deadpanned. “I’m not _good_ at waltzing as it is… Hope you guys are cool with Strauss, because there’s about to be a lot of him. I put some Mozart and Rameau in there for Marie, too.”

“I like Strauss,” Joseph said with a nod.

“I don’t know enough about Strauss to object.” Hannah shrugged as she placed the last of the food dishes out on the table.

“Hear, hear,” Jillian agreed, pointing towards Hannah dramatically. Did she know anything about Strauss? Absolutely not. Did she trust Melody’s music choice? Most definitely.

“I’ll play some more relaxed music later, but Marie wanted a formal dance, so… Well, a formal dance it is.”

“By relaxed, do you mean pop?” Grant asked.

“Yes.”

“Sweet.”

Jillian wasn’t sure about how much dancing she’d be doing, but Marie was already tugging Mozart out onto the floor, starting out a waltz before too many people entered the room. Melody said she’d picked a variety of dances for the evening, but Jillian really felt more comfortable waiting for the pop music later on. Contradances were fun, but they lacked a caller, and was almost as close to classical ballroom dance as she got.

As more and more servants filtered in, Melody continued to man the soundboard and the microphone like a classical music DJ while Jillian and Hannah explored the buffet, occasionally throwing glances back towards the dance floor.

“Party like it’s 1767,” Jillian mumbled, smiling. Hannah laughed as she took a sandwich from a pile on the table, glancing back towards the doors.

“Hey, look!”

Jillian followed her gaze to where Roman and Da Vinci entered, glancing around in awe at the room. She didn’t think he’d planned on coming, but maybe he decided to leave the control room for just a couple of hours. Besides, he should theoretically get a page if anything went horribly wrong, and Roman needed a break as much as any of them. Possibly more than any of them, actually.

After raiding the food, they found their way back to Melody’s place at the soundboard, where she sat with her MP3 player and a notebook, checking off songs as she played them or making notes of what would be best next. Even though she wasn’t dancing, she looked at peace. They could eat their food and then coax her out onto the dance floor, maybe with the help of some wine.

“Here, we brought you one of Emiya’s bacon scones,” Hannah said, handing her a plate as Jillian put down her own pile of food on a nearby table. She glanced around for Cu, but he didn’t seem to be nearby. Maybe he’d snuck off somewhere. Ah, well. She’d find him later.

“Mmmmm, thank you.” Melody happily took the plate and sat it to the side of the soundboard, beginning to remove her gloves, but she didn’t get a chance. A surprise visitor came up from behind them, slipping past Jillian to stand beside the elevated platform that housed the soundboard and speaker.

“Alright, little miss. You owe me a dance, remember?” Achilles said, holding his hand out to Melody. “We never got around to it back on the beach.”

“Oh, but I have to—”

“Come on, you can’t work all evening. This is supposed to be _fun_. Let the music take care of itself for a little while.” Achilles smiled, waiting patiently. There wasn’t really a good argument to that point. Melody’s eyes went wide for a moment as she hesitantly placed her hand in his, stepping down from the platform near the soundboard.

“Um, alright, but I’m not that—whoa!”

He swept her up into a turn without preamble and Jillian couldn’t help but laugh at the sight. So much for coaxing her out onto the dance floor.

“Hey, Master,” came another voice. Jillian turned to see Mordred clad in a snazzy pantsuit, holding out her hand with a smile. “Come on, dance with me!”

“Okay!” Jillian said cheerfully.

Though Mordred could be a little abrasive and aggressive at times, Jillian absolutely believed she had a good heart. The knight spun her around on the dance floor in circles, surprisingly strong and light on her feet. It was a good thing that Mordred seemed to know how to lead, too, because Jillian was not about to try and do that.

“You settling in okay?” Jillian asked as they whirled around the dance floor.

“Yeah. I like it here. Some of the other servants are a little weird, but the food’s good and the other Masters are nice,” she said casually. “I did some training with Joe the other morning. He’s a funny guy.”

“He’s easy to get along with,” Jillian agreed, happy that she was getting along well with everyone. Legends described Mordred as a treacherous knight, but the person standing in front of her didn’t look any more treacherous than a big puppy dog. Enthusiastic and gunning for a fight, if a little moody, Mordred had shown herself to be fiercely loyal and very strong in her own beliefs.

“Just between you and me, I think something fishy’s going on with that doctor, though,” she said quietly, eyes darting to the side for a moment to where Roman was eating a cream puff. Just at that moment, he looked like about the most non-threatening figure in all of Chaldea, but Mordred wasn’t the first servant who’d mentioned something about him being suspicious.

“Why?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I don’t know. He just rubs me the wrong way,” she mumbled, stepping away from Jillian slightly to spin her around.

Yep, that was what they all said, too. Out of all the servants who thought he was suspicious, none could come up with a definite reason.

“I’ll keep an eye out,” Jillian offered, but that was really all she could do. Roman constantly had their backs around Chaldea and while out on missions. She didn’t know what the problem was, but she couldn’t find it.

Mordred swirled them around the floor for a few more turns, ending with a dramatic dip that made Jillian absolutely feel like she was going to hit the floor, but the knight was especially strong for her size, and had no trouble pulling Jillian back up to her feet.

“Thank you for the dance, Master,” she said as the song faded out, picking up Jillian’s hand and kissing it before walking away. Hm. As reckless as she was, Mordred could be pretty gallant.

Head still spinning from that last dip, Jillian made her way over to the drinks table and snagged a glass of water, draining it in one gulp. The cold helped to clear her mind a little as she searched the room for Cu, keeping to the perimeter. Hopefully he wouldn’t be quite as enthused about dancing as Mordred seemed, or maybe she could put off another dance until later, when the pop music started.

As she walked, Jillian took note of all the servants who had decided to come. It looked like most of Chaldea had turned out. Nursery Rhyme and Jack ran around the room, darting between dancers like it was a game. Atalante looked sullen at first, but seemed to be enjoying the music. Even Emiya seemed to be having a good time.

Chiron stood to the side, leaning against the wall and watching couples spin around the floor in swirling patterns. Jillian walked over to him, a little unsure of what to say for a moment, but she wasn’t about to just let him stand there alone.

“Thanks for letting me watch the sparring session the other day,” she said brightly, following his gaze as his eyes darted around the room, watching the dancers.

“You are welcome to come at any time,” Chiron said with a smile. “Has your own training been going well?”

“It has. I’ve been making some real progress lately with projection magic concepts.” Her weapons were reliably not bendy _or_ brittle now, a feat which had taken far too long to perfect. This week she’d been working on more complex blades and trying to form weapons that worked like boomerangs, inspired by Achilles’ spear throwing antics in sparring. She’d been trying to form shields, too, but those rarely lasted long before Cu or Emiya punched through them like they were made of cardboard. Turns out that mental concepts that work for sharp blades don’t work well for strong shields.

She did semi-successfully attempt to make a replica of Mash’s shield one day, but the problem there was that it was too heavy to lift. All she could do was hide behind it, making it impractical at best and utterly useless at worst in a real battle.

“I’m glad things are progressing smoothly,” he said approvingly. Wow. She’d never quite noticed the… philosophy professor vibe he gave off before. No wonder he could both handle Achilles and get along with Melody.

“I guess you’re doing okay at Chaldea?” Jillian asked carefully. “No problems?”

“No,” he said, shaking his head. “I have a bit of a nosy roommate, but he means well.”

It took her a moment to figure out what he meant, since Masters didn’t have roommates. However, it would make sense to have servants bunk together as the place became more and more crowded. They didn’t technically need sleep, but with so many servants sustained on so few masters, eating and sleeping were important to keep them as strong as possible. However, they just didn’t have the space under normal circumstances. Judging by the direction his eyes wandered and the people that he knew in life, Jillian assumed that his roommate must be—

“Okay, time for a partner switch! Sorry, teacher, I’m stealing this one,” Achilles said from behind her, tapping her on the shoulder for only a moment before spinning her into his arms. Jillian gave a slight yelp, thinking that he danced exactly like he drove his chariot, watching over his shoulder as Melody went careening into Chiron’s chest. The centaur’s eyes went wide as he caught her around her waist before she fell.

“You’re devious. I like it,” she said approvingly.

“Why, thank you.”

“Now, could you please spin me over to the side?” she asked. “I finally located my boyfriend.”

“Well, I can’t deny a lady,” Achilles said, quite literally spinning her over to the far side of the room. Jillian damn near stumbled over to where Cu was sitting in a chair, legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles and a wide smirk on his face.

“Having fun?” he asked.

“Define fun,” Jillian mumbled, plopping down in a chair. “I think that last one needed a high turbulence warning.”

Cu just laughed, draping his arm around her shoulders as he looked off into the distance. Hannah and Drake were laughing in the corner, Hannah with a glass of wine and the pirate with a whole bottle if it in hand. Grant was locked in some kind of conversation with Tesla, while Joseph waltzed around the room with Mash. Chiron and Melody appeared to have recovered from Achilles’ little stunt, and were talking on the opposite side of the room.

“I’ll give you some time to rest for a while, but I will dance with you before the night ends,” he said firmly. Jillian smiled and nodded, leaning into him a little.

She could work with that.

 


	11. In Which We Battle For Asgard... I Mean, Chaldea

_ Suggested Listening: Demons by Imagine Dragons _

* * *

**The Missing Year: Week 27, Day 6**

**Singularity: North America, Day 8**

The North American Myth War proved to be their most difficult singularity yet. After traversing a wide range of terrain while chasing down the grail, it finally came down to the thing they were all hoping not to face: the entire Celtic army. They were backed up against a large cliff face with nowhere else to turn, an advancing force that looked almost a thousand strong steadily marching towards them. Even with support from their new allies, this wouldn’t be an easy battle.

“Okay, here’s the plan,” Melody said, voice cracking slightly in the face of the advancing army. “Joseph should take Jack and Marie and head straight for Medb. Grant, go with Jillian and support Raikou. You two make your way towards Fionn. Hannah, take Gil and see what you can do with Cu Alter. I think it’s going to take more firepower than just that to take him out. I think Karna and Arjuna will probably mind their own business so just… don’t engage,” she said, shaking her head. If they were going to keep each other busy, then there was little point in trying to mess that up.

From the side, Waver nodded his approval. “Not bad. You’ve been listening.”

“Mordred, can you clear a path for them?” Melody asked.

“What kind of a question is that?” Mordred scoffed. “’Course I can!”

“And what are you doing, tiny strategist?” asked Edison, voice booming.

“I think I can take care of the foot soldiers for you, but I need to get on high ground. Hang tight until I get there, and when I say get clear, you get the  _ fuck _ out of range and you cover your ears, got it?”

“Cover… our ears…?” Helena blinked.

“Just do it,” she said sharply. “Jeanne, I’m gonna need cover. As soon as they figure out what I’m doing, they’ll target me.”

“Of course, Master,” Jeanne said with a nod.

“What are you going to do?” Jillian asked, looking back and forth from Melody to the approaching army warily.

“You’ve seen Mulan, right?”

“Which part are we referencing?” Joseph asked, gaze locked somewhere in the distance. Melody gulped, biting her lip nervously.

“… The part with the avalanche.”

“ _ Shit _ .”

“Okay. Do your best till I can get up to the top of those cliffs,” Melody said, pointing to the rough rock cliffs on the western side of the battlefield. The distance made her nervous, but it was the best option they had. Despite the fact that her ankle was long healed, she still wasn’t a fast runner, and it would take time to climb the path to the top, but she wasn’t confident in her ability to aim her attack without the high ground.

“I can help with that, Master,” Chiron said from behind. Melody spun around, surprised to find him in his centaur form, and offering his hand. “Come on. You won’t have enough speed on your own, and you know it.”

“You… you want me to…?” she trailed off, looking between his face, his hand, and the empty space on the horse’s back.

“Come on, step up, little lady,” Cu Chulainn said suddenly, forming a stirrup with his hands. Melody hesitantly let him boost her up and over as she reflexively grabbed onto Chiron’s hand for balance, landing on his back a little awkwardly, hands resting on her thighs. The horse’s back was wide, almost too wide to be comfortable, and this kind of closeness felt… different than training. More intimate. She should be feeling anything but shy in the heat of battle, but here she was.

“You’ll need to hold on a little more tightly than that, Master,” Chiron said, and she thought she could hear a laugh somewhere in his voice. Feeling a little awkward, Melody slid forward, locking her arms around his waist, her chest pressed against his shoulder blades.

“Alright, I’m ready,” she said softly, her breath brushing against the bare skin of his neck.

“Hold tight!”

Chiron took off without another word, Jeanne heading behind them on foot, jumping up the steeper path in favor of speed.

Melody would never have told him, but she’d only ridden a horse once in her life, as a smaller child and no faster than a conservative trot. This felt like something closer to flying, or possibly falling, and she found herself holding as tightly as she could as Chiron took off around the far side of the army with incredible speed.

“ _ Keep moving, we’re going to draw their fire! _ ” Grant shouted through the comms.

Less that two seconds later, a bright red line cleaved the Celtic army in two, scorching the earth at their feet and leaving a wide path straight down the middle for servants and Masters alike to make their way to the back of the army, where the commanders lay.

“Well, that would draw  _ my _ fire. Thank Mordred for me!” Melody said, fighting to keep her eyes open as Chiron ran, her arms locked around his waist in a death grip, but he didn’t seem to mind. He moved at a blinding speed around the back side of the cliffs, bounding up the steep path to the top in a way that made Melody’s stomach lurch. When they reached the edge, he skidded to a stop, and it took her a moment before she was able to force herself to loosen her grip and slide from his back on shaky legs.

“Thank you,” she murmured, placing her hand on his shoulder briefly as she surveyed the battlefield below, swallowing back the vertigo from standing near the edge.

“They’re not close enough…” Melody muttered.

“ _ Hey, Melody? You good? _ ” Jillian’s voice came through her bracelet as Jeanne made it to the top of the cliff, flag by her side.

“I’m fine, just hang in there!”

“ _ There are too many— we can’t hold them much longer _ !”

“… Master?” Even Chiron looked worried, but if she put out the shot too soon, they wouldn’t have enough time to make it away from the cliff face.

“Okay, it’s as good as we’re gonna get. Time to get the fuck out of dodge,” Melody said, praying they would have enough time. “Subwoofer shot incoming in thirty seconds— dead center!”

 

* * *

 

From below, Melody’s voice rang out at five points on the battlefield.

“Subwoofer…?” Hannah paused for a split second before driving a roundhouse kick at the nearest foot soldier. As the soldier hit the ground, realization dawned. “Holy shit,  _ subwoofer _ — Gil, Drake, move!!”

“Get going, little lady!” Cu called, dragging Jillian by the arm and urging her forward, down the path Mordred had carved through the middle of the fray.

“ _ Ten seconds _ !”

“Move it, Mash!” Grant pulled his partner by the hand as far away from the center of army as possible.

“ _ Cover your ears _ !”

The world seemed to shake violently, and even covering their ears didn’t stop the sound from being deafening when it hit the ground. To an outsider, it might have looked as though a sinkhole opened up directly in the middle of the advancing foot soldiers. However, those closer to the battle could see how they were knocked off their feet, the impact akin to a blast from an infinitely large invisible cannon.

Those not pulled into the crater were knocked off their feet by the impact, sent tumbling into the dry dirt. The sinkhole managed to take down the middle quarter of the army, but they knew that was only a distraction. Melody’s true objective was yet to be realized.

Joseph looked up from where he’d landed on his hands and knees from the impact, finding himself face to face with Medb. Well, at least he’d made it to where he was supposed to be. Medb seemed only momentarily inconvenienced by the shaking, riding crop in hand, looking down at him like a snake looks at a rat. Yet again he wondered to himself if she actually had some kind of Mad Enhancement, but there wasn’t much time to dwell on that.

“Well, aren’t you a cutie,” Medb said with a smile, “You sure you won’t be mine?”

“Sorry, I don’t swing that way,” Joseph deadpanned, rising up to his full height. Medb’s sweet smile immediately turned to a snarl.

“Fine. You can die, then.”

Medb struck out with her magic, and he barely managed to dodge in time. Jack was nowhere to be seen, probably thrown somewhere by the blast. She would be back soon, but he needed to hold her off until she made it.

Joseph dodged another attack, firing out two gundr shots in return, but neither hit their mark.

“Is that all you’ve got?” she asked, yawning.

“Not quite,” Joseph muttered, fishing out a bright blue gem from his belt. He tossed it at Medb’s feet, releasing a web of lightning that crawled across her skin in deadly shockwaves. She shuddered from the electricity, but when the lightning faded, she only breathed a little heavier, still standing.

“An unfortunate mistake.” Medb surged forward, striking out. Joseph barely managed to block her with his staff, rolling her off to the side in the dirt. For a small woman, she was strong.

As Medb sprang to her feet, a call rang out in Joseph’s mind. Jack was on her way, but she needed just a little more time.

“Want to see a magic trick?” he asked, scrambling away from another shot.

“I doubt you know any I haven’t seen.”

“Oh, just wait. I’m sure it’ll be a scream. Gaze deeply into my crystal bomb…” Joseph said, stalling for time as he fished in one pocket of his belt.

“The phrase is crystal  _ ball _ ,” Medb scoffed, rolling her eyes as she raised her hand to attack.

“CRYSTAL BOMB, BITCH!” Joseph threw a purple gem with all the force he could muster even as he backed as far away as he could. Glitter and acid smoke wasn’t a combination he wanted to breathe, and Medb was already coughing and wheezing in pain, but at least one member of their party should be impervious to the smoke.

“Jack, take her out!”

“Thanks for stalling for me, big brother!” A tiny black blur sprang over his shoulder, as a wash of relief came over him. Medb didn’t stand a chance under those circumstances. Now it was time to focus on the soldiers and assist his teammates where he could.

And then Melody’s second shot came.

* * *

 

Unfortunately, Melody’s perfect plan hit a snag after her first shot landed.

“Oh, shit!” Hannah shouted into the comms. “Change of plans! Gil and I got ambushed by the Celts. Jillian, you and Grant need to head for Cu Alter, and do it quick!”

On the other side of the field, Jillian changed course.

“Okay, got it! Head for the big guy, Raikou.”

“Of course!”

They turned their path to the western edge of the battlefield, where a hulking dragon of a servant rampaged. Medb, thankfully, was otherwise occupied and unable to support him, or fawn over him, or whatever it was that she did. Jillian followed Mash and Grant without thinking too closely about what they were about to do, but when she came within fifty meters of him, she skidded to a stop.

A shudder ran down her spine.

It was the first time she’d seen him so close.

His skin was a little darker, perhaps from being in the sun, perhaps from the battlefield, but it was marked with the same scars that marred the skin under the blue bodysuit. The same red eyes stared back at her with the same glint of mischief. His smile was a little more jagged, teeth sharp and pointed, but there was an echo of the same hunger for battle in the real Cu. No, not the real Cu. They were both real.  _ She _ made him real.

This was Medb’s power fantasy. On one level, she felt sick to her stomach. In another, she was frozen in awe, watching as his tail whipped out to the side, taking out soldiers indiscriminately as he tore through the battlefield, the Hound of Ulster on a hunt.

On a hunt, and out for blood.

“Go now!” Grant said, surging forward with Mash on his tail. Even with her massive shield, she struggled to hold off his attacks. Raikou struck, but he didn’t even flinch. Sending her flying backwards with a strike from his tail. Shaken out of her daze by the sight of Raikou hurtling through the air, Jillian sent birds, but they barely scratched him. Her throwing knives seemed to bounce off him, like his skin was simply unbreakable, or perhaps they did strike, and he simply didn’t  _ bleed _ .

“Why are you holding back?” Cu asked,

“I’m  _ not _ holding back,” Jillian snapped, sending out another bird. It pecked and pecked, but didn’t seem to make a difference, more like an annoying gnat to him than anything.

“Yes, you are!” Mordred called out from the side. “Talk some sense into her, blue man. We’ll hold him off!”

Cu yanked her away from his alternate self’s range, both hands on her shoulders. He shook his head, looking utterly confused and more than a little angry with her. It was hardly an appropriate time to have a conversation, but she couldn’t shake the horrible feeling in her gut that he was right. She was holding back, and she knew exactly why.

“What the hell is wrong? You can’t get cold feet now; we’ve practiced for this—"

“He’s you,” Jillian said flatly, voice sounding broken even to her. Her eyes flicked from her Cu to the Mad King and back again, unable to form a true separation between them in her mind.

“He’s  _ not _ me,” Cu protested.

“But he  _ is _ !” Jillian’s shout echoed in the distance, despite the battle around them. “He  _ is _ you, maybe not this version of you, but he’s some kind of you, and I can’t— I can’t just…”

_ Kill him. _

Cu’s expression fell and he sighed, shaking his head. “You have to.”

Bolts of lightning shot through the air as Raikou attacked, this time anticipating the tail swipe and dodging out of the way with time to spare. Mordred followed up with a flurry of strikes, but he blocked every one. Even Mash’s shield seemed to be near useless as far as damage.

“ _ Second subwoofer shot— east side, incoming in 10! _ ”

“You’ve got another one of those?!” Jillian shouted into the comms.

“ _ I can get out another three, at best _ .”

“ _ Two _ ,” sounded another voice.

“ _ Chiron, I’m fine _ ,” Melody grumbled through the speakers.

“ _ You’ll sap all your energy and be defenseless _ .”

“Can you two do that weird married couple thing later?!” Grant called, ducking under an arrow as Mash took out one of the surviving foot soldiers.

“ _ Firing on the east side _ !”

Another blast split the air, this time firing on the group of soldiers at the base of the cliffs. They cracked, but didn’t give way, shaking debris and rockslides down on the army below. Even a quick glance made it obvious that they likely wouldn’t last through another shot.

Cu Alter turned at the sound of the second blast, shoulders tense as his red eyes locked on Melody’s form, barely a speck at the top of the cliff. His jaw gave a slight tick, and though he hadn’t even raised his weapon, Jillian knew exactly what his next movements would be. He was still Cu, after all, and by now she knew his every tick, every tell, and every muscle movement.

“I don’t think so!”

Jillian barely sent out her threads in time, a sticky spider bomb that bound his weapon to his hand. Bright white threads glittered in the light, strong as steel and nearly impossible to cut. Cu Alter outright growled, head whipping around to face Jillian. All her confidence from a moment before evaporated as he stalked towards her, unable to throw but still very much able to  _ swing _ his spear.

“Stay on your toes, Master!” Mordred said, effortlessly batting Jillian to the side as her sword engaged Cu Alter’s spear. However, one strong swipe from him sent her soaring like a bug from a flyswatter. She landed on her feet, but it was clear that the strike had barely damaged their enemy.

“Damn, he’s fast for a big guy!” Mordred closed the visor on her helmet, jumping to her feet to try again.

“Jillian, get Chiron on the comms!” Cu called, deflecting a strike from his other self.

“Um, okay?!” Jillian fired off another set of webs towards a few straggling soldiers, netting them and rendering them useless, but alive, as Raikou, Mash, and Cu continued their onslaught against the Mad King. “Hey, Mels, is your centaur still with you?”

“ _ Yeah, we’re here. What do you need? _ ” She sounded tired, but there wasn’t time to worry about that now.

“Tell him I need him to aim for the heart, and do it pronto!” Cu dodged another strike, but Jillian wasn’t confident how long he could last.

“ _ Got it _ ,” Melody said.

“ _ I was wondering when you would ask _ .” Chiron’s voice came through the comms as the sky suddenly darkened. It was like the entire world faded past sunset and directly into night, stars shining over them with a brightness that had to be unnatural, but was no less beautiful.

“ _ This is a blow that pierces the stars of the Scorpion. My arrow has already been set loose _ .”

“Out of the way, babe!” Cu pulled on Jillian’s arm, drawing her back from where Cu Alter stood. Her eyes were still fixed on the sky, wondering how on earth it could suddenly be night, how long it would last, and what the  _ living fuck _ Chiron’s noble phantasm was.

It didn’t take long for her to find out.

Up in the sky, one star gleamed blindingly bright, standing out from the others. Jillian wasn’t the best with constellations, but it was fairly obvious from the voice that echoed over the battlefield exactly which celestial figure the star belonged to. Even Cu Alter raised his eyes to the heavens, though he didn’t bother to move to counterstrike, his spear still webbed to his hand by Jillian’s attacks.

“Killing him once ain’t gonna cut it, and he’s the only guy on this battlefield who’s guaranteed not to miss,” Cu said, eyes glued on the sky.

What looked like a comet shot down from the sky, and the world seemed to pause as it fell towards the earth in a screaming, golden arc, headed precisely for the heart of Cu Chulainn Alter. It hit with deadly accuracy, and he cried out as he fell to his knees in pain, doubling over and leaning his weight on his massive spear.

However, despite Chiron’s blow striking bare flesh and running exactly through his heart, as the sky cleared, Cu Alter struggled to his feet.

“It didn’t kill him?” Jillian whispered in horror.

“No, but he’s weaker now,” Cu mumbled, surging forward. This time, he nearly made the strike. Understanding dawned on Jillian as she send out a bird towards them. Cu Alter was not sluggish by any means, but he no longer moved with the same blinding speed as before. He would fight on despite any damage taken to his body, but regenerating a heart was complex and temporarily debilitating.

They had a shot now. It was slim, but it was there, and ten times better than before.

“I need you to bind him!” Cu shouted, blocking another attack from his alternate self. “Gae Bolg will pierce his heart, but I need a clean shot—”

“I’ve got it!”  _ Work fast _ , she prayed, sending out as many threads as she could at once while maintaining the hold on his spear. They wrapped around his tail, his arms, his legs, but unfortunately, the only thing she had to bind him to… was herself.

She kept as much tension on the threads as possible, but it only took a split second for him to realize where the threads were coming from, and to simply move towards her to loosen them. Even tightening the tension did nothing but draw them closer together, though it kept him from striking out at anyone else. Jillian kept moving as she pulled, trying to throw him off balance as she looked for a better solution, but none appeared. She settled for lashing him to one of the large boulders dotting the battlefield like a mockery of chess pieces, threads winding around and around the stone, pulling him tighter with each pass.

The problem? He really  _ was _ too fast, even while regenerating from near death.

Quick as a flash, the Mad King yanked on the threads coming from Jillian’s hands before she could detach them, pulling her into the sticky trap of her own making. He tried to fling her away as he’d done to Mordred, but utterly failed, looking shocked and angry when her threads held them in place. She simply added more in response, tying them both to the boulder.

“What the hell are you thinking?!” Cu asked, pointing Gae Bolg in their direction.

“Cu, do it now!” she shouted, knowing it was pointless to free herself. She would only free Cu Alter as well, and they’d lose their chance. For his part, the half-dragon servant tied to the rock seemed oddly calm. Jillian’s body was lashed to his, her back against his chest, her head to the right of where his heart still beat, the bloody wound from Chiron’s strike just visible in her peripherals.

“Do you really want to take this shot?” Cu Alter asked, tips of his claws tracing over Jillian’s cheek. “The archer has an arrow that can hit even Achilles’ godspeed with precision, but you don’t.”

Cu’s eyes went wide, and he shook his head even as he kept his spear pointed towards them.

“I can’t, I might hit—”

“Just do it— you won’t get a second shot!” she yelled, locking eyes with him from across the battlefield.

Cu was still. She couldn’t even make out his breathing, muscles held as taut as a wire. He was capable of striking at any moment, but he was holding back for fear of hurting her. She’d never seen this kind of hesitation in him before, not once, and especially not in the heat of battle.

“I trust you.”

Jillian’s voice was soft, but she knew he heard.

In the background, a deafening blast split the air, followed by shaking like an earthquake. The cliffs behind them crumbled, bringing down a catastrophic rockslide that demolished the remaining half of the Celtic army in one stroke. They didn’t have time to delay, dust and dirt from falling debris already swept their direction by the wind. Screams and cries split the air, both from the enemies on the battlefield and the over the comms on Jillian’s bracelet.

“ _ Run! Get out of range! _ ”

“ _ Medb is down; we’re backing out! _ ”

“ _ What’s going on out there? I can’t see for shit! _ ”

Cu Chulainn’s eyes narrowed and he nodded once, grip tightening on his spear. Jillian tightened her hold on the threads, adding more at the same pace that Cu Alter’s claws and the spines of his tail cut through the ones already binding him.

“ _ Your heart is mine… Gae Bolg! _ ”

Jillian squeezed her eyes shut against the wash of bright light, a searing heat screaming against her cheek as she gritted her teeth against the impact of Cu’s noble phantasm. When the light and the rush of sound faded, Jillian’s heartbeat was like a roaring wave in her ears, drumming out the fact that she was  _ here _ , she was  _ alive _ .

Cu Alter went slack behind her.

“It seems I underestimated you… both.”

The threads around them began to disappear as Jillian released her hold, scrambling away as quickly as she could, though her knees felt week. As the King coughed blood, clutching the spear now embedded in his chest, he choked out a final parting sentence.

“I could never attract a good woman. I’m glad some version of me finally found one.”

He gave one last, toothy smile, and despite the fact that he’d lost, Jillian got the impression that he held no bitterness. Dying in battle wasn’t something he would regret, not in any version of himself.

She couldn’t look away as the life left his eyes, falling to her knees on the barren ground as he disappeared in a shower of light.

Cu Chulainn ran forward at full speed, fighting to untangle Jillian from the last of her own threads even as they disappeared on her own. He took her face in his hands, running his fingers along her cheekbone with a look of horror. It stung, and she wasn’t sure why. Her entire body, her entire  _ being _ felt numb.

“I hit you,” he whispered. When his hand pulled away, his fingertips were bloody.

She didn’t realize she was crying until she felt something tickle across her hand, and realized it was a teardrop falling. She dimly registered a sticky warmth spreading over her clothes, staining the white fabric of her uniform deep red. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out. It was impossible to process how close she’d come to death, though she didn’t feel like there was ever a risk.

However, watching the light fade from another pair of deep red eyes felt like some other part of her had died when Cu’s spear hit home.

“I hit you,” Cu whispered again, pulling her into a fierce hug, his voice cracking. “Oh, god, I—”

“I’m okay,” she said faintly, though her entire body was shaking as she wrapped her arms around him. “I’m okay.”

“I can’t… again…” Cu said softly, holding her so tightly that it felt bruising, but she didn’t care. Jillian held on just as tightly, with no intent to let go any time soon. This was the last leg of the singularity. The battle was won.

So why did it feel like she’d lost something important?

 


	12. In Which We Deal With Fallout

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI IT'S ME, BACK FROM THE DEAD! I do promise that this story will be finished, and I'm posting two chapters as a gesture of... Well, near absolute shame for almost abandoning it. BUT I almost abandoned it because I'm adding extra content! Thank you all for sticking with me on this wild ride <3 I really appreciate the comments and kudos.

_ Suggested listening: Superman (It’s Not Easy) by Five for Fighting; Keep Breathing by Ingrid Michaelson _

* * *

 

**The Missing Year: Week 28, Day 7**

When she woke up in the coffins post-rayshift, Melody immediately knew that something was wrong.

She felt stiff and sore, which was fine, considering they’d just been through a battle, but that wasn’t the problem. Her brain was running on overdrive and her chest felt tight, but she did her best not to show it. However, it must have taken her a moment too long to get to her feet, because Jeanne looked suspicious.

“Are you alright?” Jeanne asked, pulling her up and out of the coffin. Melody swung her legs over the side, nodding slowly even as her heart beat like a jackhammer in her chest.

“I think I just need a nap,” she whispered.

“I’ll walk you.” Jeanne started to take her arm, but Melody shook her head.

“No, I’m fine. I just want to be alone for a while.”

She shrugged off other expressions of concern for her teammates as they headed towards the summoning circle, saying that she’d catch up with them later to say hello to any new arrivals.

Melody wasn’t sure where she was going. One step led to another, and then she was jogging, then running, then sprinting down the Chaldea hallways. It was like something worked its way into her blood, her bones, her brain, compelling her to move or scream or fly, but with no destination in mind. She ran through the hallways until her lungs burned, flying past a few other servants, entirely unsure of what they thought or where she was going. Her lungs burned and her eyes watered from exertion, but she kept moving, off to the far edges of the compound until she hit a wall at a dead-end hallway.

Melody pressed both palms against the cold metal of Chaldea’s sealed-off doorway, finally feeling the fiery adrenaline give way to something more like a dizzy weight. Her body sagged as she sank to the floor, knees pulled to her chest as she shook with silent sobs. Seconds, minutes, or hours passed. She wasn’t certain. Time was in flux, only indicated by the passing of her erratic heartbeat and jilted breathing, by the ache in her stiff muscles, unable to rid themselves of tension, by the flurry of thoughts that cycled through her mind over and over.

Being away was all she wanted, just somewhere that there was no one, somewhere that people wouldn’t see her like this. She was supposed to be strong. She was supposed to lead, to save the world. She couldn’t do that while breaking down in the corner of a deserted hallway!

_ But— _

The screams.

_ But— _

The dust.

_ But— _

The soldiers who fell into the pit and under the rockslide of her own creation.

“Melody!”

“Thank goodness.”

She barely registered the voices through the fog of her own mind, barely registered when someone touched her wrist, her shoulder, checking her heart rate, asking her questions.

“I’m s—sorry, so sorry,” she stammered, unable to stop her own shaking.

“Melody, talk to me. What is wrong?” someone asked softly. It was a male voice, but it felt like reaching through a void to try and recognize it.

She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

“She’s having a panic attack,” a second voice said gently. Also male, but she couldn’t quite recognize it. “Can you take her? We should move her somewhere warmer.”

Her vision was blurry, but she felt herself pulled off the ground by strong arms, pressed against soft fabric that smelled like dust and grass and musk. She pressed herself closer, trying to think of something, of anything to say, but words wouldn’t come. Her whole body was in overdrive and stiff at once, silent tears running down her face when she’d never given permission for them to fall.

She couldn’t tell where they took her or who they passed, if they passed anyone, eyes squeezed shut and pressed against the warm comfort of whoever was holding her. She wanted to tell them she’d be fine, she could walk, but the words wouldn’t come.

“Focus on my voice, alright?” The second voice came again, calm and steady. “Can you breathe with me slowly? In and out.”

Melody took a shaking breath in, as slowly as she could manage, and but the breath out was closer to a choked-off sob. She was dimly aware that they’d stopped moving, but her eyes were still closed, and she held fast to the comforting warmth near her.

“Good, that’s it.”

Three more breaths in, three more breaths out, and she felt like she could open her eyes. Her stomach still roiled, but she forced herself to swallow down her nausea as her blurry vision solidified into a familiar white tunic, tanned arms, and the ends of sandy brown hair. At another time, she likely would have panicked after finding herself in such close proximity to Chiron, but now she simply snuggled closer, leaning her head against his chest and feeling thankful that if someone was close to her right now, then it was someone she would trust with her life. Someone she  _ had _ trusted with her life. She cautiously looked around the rest of the room, gaze eventually landing on Dr. Roman.

“Hi, there,” he said gently. “Mind if I check your heart rate?”

Melody unlatched one hand from where she’d gabbed onto the fabric of Chiron’s tunic, not fully aware that she’d been holding on so tightly, and gave it to Roman.

It took her three tries before she could speak.

“I… I k—killed people today.” Melody squeezed her hands into fists, nails biting into her palms even though her black gloves.

“Your allies would not have won the battle if you didn’t.” Chiron’s voice rumbled in her ear.

“That— that doesn’t— it’s not  _ better _ that way!” The cry ripped from her throat in more of a scream than anything. Roman, to his credit, barely flinched, while Chiron’s arms only tightened around her. “They died. They still died, and  _ I killed them _ .”

Another sob welled up in her throat, entire body tensing as she tried to hold back her tears.

“Dr. Roman, could you…?” Chiron asked softly.

“Of course.”

He nodded once, wrote a note on his pad of paper, and made his way out of the room quietly. Chiron made no motion to put Melody down or ask her to move, and as her shaking faded, she felt herself collapse against his chest.

“I didn’t want you to see me like this,” she mumbled, closing her eyes from sheer embarrassment.

“Has this happened before?”

“… Yes.”

Jeanne knew, only because the first time it happened at Chaldea, Melody hadn’t figured out how to block her panic into her own mind, and accidentally projected it out from herself towards Jeanne. Naturally, she’d sensed trouble and came running. Dr. Roman was likely the only other one who knew, and only because it was on her medical records. She had panic attacks, occasionally, but not often enough to warrant medication. It was the only risk factor that they’d brought up during her screening at Chaldea, and the one she’d tried the hardest to hide since their missions started. In truth, she’d spent the morning after their return from Fuyuki shaking and crying, feeling chained to her bed by an overactive heart rate and thoughts that wouldn’t stop whirling.

“How long?”

She didn’t respond.

“Melody, how long?”

A breath.

Melody shifted then, forcing herself to uncurl and stand on her own two legs, though they didn’t quite feel strong enough to hold her. She stretched, rolled her shoulders, and reached for a tissue to wipe at her face, still wet with tears.

“Most of my life. It’s fine.”

She purposefully did not look at him when she spoke, just happy that her voice remained even. He gave a kind of sigh that said that he didn’t approve of her hiding it, but she chose to ignore it. Chiron wouldn’t chastise her about it now, and she could deal with the after-effects of his knowledge at some other time. For now, she turned back to face him, voice much smaller than she’d intended when she spoke.

“Chiron,” she whispered, “How do you ever get used to it?”

There was no need to specify what “it” was.

“Do you  _ want _ to?”

Melody thought about it, but it didn’t take her long to come to a decision. She would rather have her heart break for every single person whose life had been lost than to ever dismiss a single one as unimportant or worthless. However, the longer she stayed at Chaldea, the more she felt like her heart was broken, or gone, or so far calloused over that it took too much to reach it.

“I think I’m scared I might,” she admitted. “It was too  _ easy _ . It was too easy to make that decision, and to detach from what I was doing. I know I had to. Realistically, I know, but that doesn’t make it right or easy to accept, and I don’t think it  _ should _ .”

“You are too moral to be a mage, Master…” Chiron muttered. Melody didn’t understand what he meant even enough to question it. She’d never even been around other mages before taking this job, and the other mages on the team seemed to have a similar moral compass. What kinds of people were mages, if they could kill so cold heartedly?

Then again, after reading the history of the grail wars, she wasn’t sure that she wanted to know.

“Everyone says they want to go back to normal after this is over, but I don’t know that I know what normal is anymore,” she admitted. “It feels impossible to just go back after everything I’ve seen and done, and irresponsible to try and forget it…”

She plopped down on the edge of the bed, fingers clenching tightly around the fabric of the sheets for a moment before she calmly folded her hands in her lap, forcing herself to take deep breaths.

“I’m sorry. I feel so stupid and childish.” Melody wiped at her face with a tissue before looking away, embarrassed and exhausted. “It’s just… every day I wonder that even if my body survives this… will my soul? What happens to my humanity the more that I fight?”

“The fact that you are asking that question means that you haven’t lost it.” Chiron took her hand in his, placing a soft kiss on the back of her palm. Melody looked up with a tiny, inaudible gasp, eyes flicking from her hand to his face and back again, drawn into his gaze. “I know you had no choice in taking up the burden you bear. In other circumstances, I might advise you to walk away from being a mage, but I am aware that you cannot and will not for the sake of humanity. Instead, I ask that you allow me to help you carry some of the weight. Let me protect you, as much as I am able.”

Melody nodded slowly, but when her mouth opened to speak, no words came out. It took several breaths before she felt calm enough to breathe, like the knives had retreated from her lungs and her heart had calmed a little. Chiron gently let go of her hand, reaching up to brush her hair away from her face. She glanced hesitantly up at him, embarrassed to make eye contact for too long in her current disheveled and exhausted state.

“You keep calling yourself a child, but you act with a maturity of a woman. Having a gentle nature does not make you any less wise,” he said softly, giving a kind smile.

“Thank you,” Melody whispered, giving a shaky smile of her own. Chiron nodded, standing from the chair and turning towards the door.

“I can’t let down a student of mine.”

A  _ student _ .

Melody’s chest tightened painfully in an entirely different way. All the warmth she’d felt only moments before leached away into something cold and barren, laden with disappointment. She wiped at her face with the tissue again, trying to hide that more tears threatened to form as Chiron stood and walked towards the door. The adrenaline drained from her bones, replaced with a sense of crippling exhaustion. Perhaps she hadn’t been lying when she said she needed a nap.

Perhaps Chiron’s parting words were simply the nail in the coffin that hid her heart from the world.

“Y— yes, of course…” she murmured as he left the room.

* * *

 

He hadn’t left her alone since they got back.

Jillian had elected to forego the trip to the summoning area with the others and try her chances later. For now, she was exhausted, injured, and incredibly dirty, not to mention that she felt… emotionally dirty, and that was something that no amount of soap and water could wash away. Cu followed her back to her room, waited as Medea worked her healing magic on the slash on her cheek, and waited as she showered off the grime the dust and grime that seemed to have slipped under the very fabric of her uniform, coating her skin with red, gritty sand.

When she finally emerged from the bathroom, wrapped in a clean robe and hair still damp, Cu hadn’t left, and she knew she wasn’t immune to even more questioning.

“Cu, I’m fine,” she said for the fifteenth time. “I’m really fine. It was just a scratch, and Medea healed it already.”

“That’s not the point,” he grumbled, leaning back in her desk chair as his eyes raked over her body. The gaze made her shiver a little, though she knew it was likely medical.

“Then please enlighten me, because I don’t get what the point is,” Jillian said with a sigh, giving up. Cu grabbed her by the hand and tugged, pulling her off balance and off to the side before she landed on his lap with a slight squeak. Her skin was already flushed from the scalding shower, but she swore that she was as red as a lobster. She should be used to it by now, but she really wasn’t. Sudden things like this still caught her off guard, and she knew that he enjoyed flustering her with them.

“How much of my story do you know?” he asked, voice soft in her ear.

“Not much,” Jillian admitted sheepishly. “I think Melody has read the whole thing, but she gave me the book and it just felt… I don’t know… invasive?”

“Melody is the resident librarian. I would expect her to know,” Cu said with a sigh, “but only you would think that reading about the life of someone long dead behind their back is invasive.”

Jillian just spluttered, throwing her hands up helplessly. Why would she sit there reading a book about the life of a person who was right beside her? That just seemed a little rude. And awkward. She shifted her position to the side so she could see his face, head resting against his shoulder. As he spoke, his arms tightened around her, fingers digging into her hip in a way that was almost, but not quite, painful. Cu avoided her eyes even as hers were fixed on his expression, taking in every tick, every tell, every movement.

“I have killed most of the people that I love,” he rasped, staring off somewhere far away. “If I didn’t kill them, I hurt them.”

A cold chill went down Jillian’s spine. She was aware of that, to an extent, but only to an extent. She didn’t know how many people he really killed, or who they all were to him, or how they had been ripped away from him if he hadn’t dispatched them himself. Melody said something about a sad ending when giving her the book, but she’d never made it past the death of the guard dog that gave him his new name.

“I told you once that I understood my destiny from the time I was born. I knew what I had to do. I knew I would kill people.” At this, he looked back at her, his expression oddly peaceful. “That’s fine. Part of saving lives is that you inevitably take lives in the process. Heroes don’t make great pacifists.”

Jillian didn’t speak, but something in his description rang a bell, if only dimly. It was no wonder he had conflicts of ideals with Emiya, who firmly described himself as a pacifist. She was starting to understand what he meant, though, especially after that battle. They couldn’t be pacifists and save the world at once. Somewhere along the line you had to accept that, and Jillian thought that in many ways, he’d been preparing her for that reality during all of their time training together.

“I don’t want to lose another person I care about by my own hand. Especially not you.”

“Don’t worry. You’re stuck with me, I promise.” Jillian wrapped her arms around him, softly kissing his cheek as she settled into place against him. They stayed there in silence until Jillian lost track of time, watching the slow rise and fall of his chest and waiting until his grip loosened just a little, some of his muscle tension fading.

“Hey…” he murmured, turning his head to the side to kiss her quickly. “Can I stay here tonight?”

Jillian’s heart jumped into her throat, eyes widening just a little. She could quite clearly tell what his implications were, especially with the position of his hand as it trailed up the bare skin of her thigh. However, she’d honestly been wondering to herself why he hadn’t done this before— after all, it wasn’t as though he was shy about being touchy.

“Yes,” she whispered, and that was clearly all the permission he needed.

Cu adjusted his grip to pick her up, handling her as though she weighed nothing at all as he walked them both from her desk chair over to the bed. There wasn’t time for her to work in a word edgewise as his mouth pressed against hers, his fingers already working loose the ties of her robe. She felt nervous for a brief moment, it faded with every touch as she allowed herself to explore him as he touched her. Months ago, she wasn’t certain why he would ever be attracted to her, and some days she still doubted it, but now she understood that it didn’t really matter if she understood. What he felt was what he felt, her own inferiority complex aside, and she was happy to be able to return his feelings.

* * *

 

**The Missing Year: Week 29, Day 5**

The last thing she ever thought she would purposefully do was avoid her trainer.

However, here she was, eating lunch in the back corner of the cafeteria with Joseph and Jillian, hoping that the crowds would disguise her if he decided to come and check on her for the third time today. She ate her food mostly silently, listening to the conversation go on around her as she did her best to stay awake. Those subwoofer shots were powerful, but they’d left her completely and utterly exhausted, and her depleted mana wasn’t restoring as quickly as it should. It could have been residual stress from her panic attack or just general emotional turmoil, but Melody was doing her best to make sure she ate all her meals and rested in an effort to take care of herself. She wanted things to remain as normal as possible, which meant that she didn’t want anyone questioning her about it.

Unfortunately, Chiron noticed, in that strange way that he always seemed to notice everything, and he insisted on treating her with care because of it. It would have been difficult for him  _ not _ to notice, really, as he’d been the person who sat with her through her panic attack, which still made her flush with embarrassment when she thought about it. That was the  _ last _ thing she wanted anyone to see, especially Chiron. He’d been taking it easy on her in training, checking on her wellbeing when he could. It was sweet, in a way, but in other ways it annoyed her.

A  _ student _ . That was all she was.

She didn’t want him there as a teacher looking after his student. That just seemed silly. It felt like an arrow through her heart every time she saw him, and not in a good way. Not only could she not stand to be treated like a delicate doll, but she felt ridiculous for letting herself get so attached without even noticing it happening.

“Hi, Chiron,” Joseph said with a wave.

_ Shit.  _ So he found her after all. Melody just slumped, turning to glance behind her for only a moment before turning back to the table.

“He’s been babying me,” she muttered.

“She put too much into her last shot, and she’s still in danger of overloading her magic circuits for the next several days,” he said with a glance at Joseph.

“Yes, I know. Thank you,  _ Mr. _ Chiron.” Melody poked at her food with her fork without eating it, purposefully using the name the younger servants called him during their training sessions. Chiron clearly wasn’t convinced. He didn’t sit down as if he planned on staying, but he certainly didn’t look like he intended to move.

“For an intelligent woman, you are consistently and unnecessarily reckless with your magic,” he chided. Melody let it roll off her back. There was no point in getting caught up in his chastisements right now, especially when she was trying to get him to lighten up, not take care of her  _ more _ .

“Yep. Waver says so, too.”

“Melody.”

“I’ll take it easy, I promise. I can rest after we save the world.” Her voice was quiet and her smile shaky, but Chiron let the matter drop.

“I’ll see you for training later.”

He patted her shoulder gently and turned to head out of the cafeteria. Melody followed him with her eyes until he left the room, turning back to her food with a heavy sigh.

“Has it ever occurred to you that you  _ do _ actually act like a couple?” Joseph asked pointedly. Melody paused long enough to glare at him before going back to her food, muttering under her breath as she speared a carrot.

“Is Grant rubbing off on people or something?”

“No, not really. I can just see it.”

“I’m his  _ student _ ,” she said slowly. “Stu-dent. He doesn’t see me like that.” She popped the carrot in her mouth in a way that definitely made her look like she was pouting, but she  _ was _ pouting. Not for that reason, though. Well, sort of. She didn’t want to be  _ babied _ like a student as well as pushed away to arm’s length!

“He is kind of hard to read,” Jillian admitted.

Melody didn’t think he was too hard to read, normally. His calm manner was refreshing, and though he wasn’t as expressive as someone like Achilles or Astolfo, it was just a matter of picking up on his smaller tells. However, it was quite clear that he didn’t want to get any closer to her than as a student, especially after…

The memory of him holding her not so long ago flashed through her mind, his comforting warmth against her skin, the sound of his heartbeat… and then to be called a student. Not even a friend. A student.

Clearly she was nothing more than a child to him, which was… Well…

Fine.

“Okey dokey,” Jillian said, stretching, “Sorry to leave in the middle of this riveting conversation, but I’m out.”

“Where ya headed?” Joseph asked.

“I’ve got to go check on Cu Alter. See how he’s settling in, you know?”

“Is it weird having a bigger, scalier version of your boyfriend wandering the halls and terrifying the servants with his menacing gaze?” He held out his spoon like a news reporter with a microphone, a comically serious expression on his face.

“Honestly?” Jillian paused, obviously pretending to think it over for a second. “Yeah. It’s really, really weird.”

  
  



	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Suggested Listening:

_ Suggested Listening: Drugs & Candy by All Time Low _

* * *

 

**The Missing Year: Week 29, Day 5**

It turned out that having Cu Alter around was a lot like having a very large and spiky guard dog.

Or guard dragon.

However you wanted to look at it.

Jillian hadn’t expected to summon him, but there was no mistaking that hulking form when the light from the summoning circle faded.

_ “Are you my Master?” he asked. _

_ Jillian pointed to herself, eyebrows raised. _

_ Cu Alter made a gesture that looked something like the visual equivalent of “Yes, are you blind?” _

_ Jillian nodded. _

_ “I am Cu Chulainn, and I am your spear. Use me as you will.” _

_ Jillian gulpled. Hard. _

Originally, it felt like everyone in Chaldea was three times as tense with Cu Alter around. They weren’t sure how to interact with him, and they were too scared to ignore him. The hallways and cafeteria alike went silent around him whenever he passed, tail swinging a wide arc and spikes punching holes in the lower half of the plaster walls. Jillian hoped that if she spent enough time around him, then the others might follow suit. He needed someone who would interact with him besides Medb, especially because she didn’t want Medb’s oily thot hands anywhere near him.

It was kind of a surprise that Medb was here at all, Jillian thought as she walked down the hallways, glancing up at the cryptid photoboard as she walked past. Since their initial conception, the photo boards had grown into monsters of their own making, stretching to fill large sections of various hallways around the base. None of them minded, though.

Ugh, except there Medb was again on the photo wall. Of course she’d snagged a camera and taken a picture of herself. Jillian wasn’t really certain how Joseph managed to reign her in. Though, there was one unfortunate moment where he sarcastically made a comment about getting a net to snag Diarmuid…

He wouldn’t be making those comments around her any more. That had ended horribly for everyone involved. Horny queen, sarcastic Master, and a cursed mole? No, thanks. Thankfully, the pink haired fury in question didn’t seem to be anywhere around. If Jillian had her way, there would be a restraining order on her, or at least a command seal to keep her away from Cu Alter. She wasn’t good for his mental or emotional state.

Finally, she did manage to find her guard dragon. In the lounge area. Alone.

This wouldn’t be odd, except that the lounge was normally overcrowded at this time of day. Apparently the servants that had been present had slowly made their way out of the area after he’d been there for a while, which made Jillian feel both annoyed and sad about the situation. Cu stared off into space, seated on the sofa with his tail slowly swinging back and forth behind him, staring off into nothing like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

“Hey, Cu,” Jillian said softly, keeping her distance as she waved.

He snarled, red eyes narrowed and tail swinging wildly as he turned towards her. And  _ that _ was why she’d kept her distance until he realized it was her— she’d already had to dodge plenty of tail swipes. Being thrown into the wall was not on the list of activities for today. As soon as Cu Alter seemed to realize who was speaking, he relaxed a little, the tension draining from his shoulders as his expression relaxed and his tail seemed to settle.

He didn’t invite her over or say hello, but Jillian took that as permission enough to go sit beside him. She slid as close as she dared, stealing glances over at him when she got the chance.

“You are nervous,” he stated flatly.

“No, I’m not,” Jillian protested, but he looked down at her with a knowing kind of glance that didn’t leave room for argument.

“I can smell it.”

Smell it? Well, maybe he had dragon senses as well? She didn’t really know the full extent of his powers, and she wasn’t about to go and ask the riding crop queen about it. Didn’t plan on asking Cu about it either, at least till she got to know him a little better.

“O-okay… so… how are you settling in?”

“Just fine.”

He didn’t elaborate. Alright, apparently his Alter version was about as talkative as Cu on a cranky day, which she supposed was appropriate. At least regular Cu didn’t turn into a spiky dragon on his cranky days, too. Jillian made a mental note that the next time she decided to spend time with him, she should bring some paper and a pencil to sketch. It would at least give her something to do with her hands while he sat there in broody, scaly silence.

“Master,” Cu said suddenly, turning towards her. “You should not let your guard down so easily around me. I just might gut you without thinking.”

A cold chill ran through Jillian’s entire body. She wasn’t sure if it was from his words alone or the utterly serious tone with which he delivered them, but her survival instincts screamed at her to run far and fast. However… she couldn’t bring herself to move.

He was alone here. Very few of the other servants even dared to interact with him, and never for very long. Even Melody seemed awkward around him, though she hadn’t been able to pinpoint why. She always avoided the topic in conversation, though she’d sit in a room with him without complaint, unlike most of Chaldea.

“I know you won’t hurt me.” She hated that it didn’t sound as sure as she felt.

“Are you certain of that?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes,” Jillian said firmly.

“Then you are strong of heart.” Cu Alter shifted his weight just a little, one large, clawed hand resting carefully on her shoulder. “As long as you do not betray me, my lance will surely never pierce you.”

“Hey, Jill.”

Clad in blue spandex, her Lancer walked into the lounge area, looking irritated. She didn’t have time to respond to the dragon on the couch beside her before he continued speaking.

“Have you eaten lunch? We should go.”

It sounded like a ploy to get her alone, and it probably was, but she really  _ hadn’t _ eaten yet. She paused, trying to work out if it would be good to invite Cu Alter to go with them, to stay here for a while, or to just go. None of them seemed like great options, if she was being honest. Thankfully, though, she didn’t have to make a decision on her own.

“Go,” Cu Alter said, gesturing towards his other self.

Jillian bit her lip, looking back and forth between them. This was certainly a dilemma she never expected to find herself in.

“You need not worry. He is the light, and I am the shadow. That is how we exist.” He said it casually, rolling his shoulders as he stood from the sofa and sauntered down the hall without another word, tail trailing behind him.

“You know, for once, I agree with him,” Cu muttered.

Jillian rose from her spot on the sofa and slowly walked forward, heading towards the cafeteria with Cu walking beside her. She didn’t feel any better after that meeting. On the contrary: she might feel a little bit worse.

“I just wish he wasn’t by himself so much.”

“You shouldn’t spend so much time around him,” he said warily. “He’ll get attached.”

Jillian paused in her tracks, hands on her hips as she turned and squinted at Cu.

“I know that tone. Are you seriously jealous of  _ yourself _ ? I mean, not  _ yourself _ , but your  _ other _ self?”

He just scowled in response, avoiding her eyes, which was an answer in itself.

A grin slowly spread across Jillian’s face as she playfully poked him in the arm. “Mmm-hmm, you’re jealous. Of you.”

“As far as I’m concerned, you are  _ mine _ ,” he said, slipping an arm around her waist as they walked. “He’s already attached, and I just don’t like him thinking he can get too close to you. It’s a strange feeling having different versions of yourself as your biggest competition.”

“Cu.”

“Mm?”

“If you know him that well, can you tell that he needs other people around him?”

He made a vague grumbling noise that didn’t truly sound like words.

“… Alright, I’ll try to see if I can get people to spend more time around him,” he conceded.

“Not Medb.”

“Perish the thought,” he said immediately, making a retching noise. “I wouldn’t want her anywhere near even my alternate self.”

“Good.”

Jillian slipped out of his grasp and held his hand instead as they walked, feeling slightly less like an infatuated teenager. Something Cu said rang true, though. It was odd having different versions of him hanging around, and having them all think something different about her. Melody treated Cu’s slightly younger self like a brother, his Caster version was something like a wise father figure, and Alter… Well, that didn’t need any more explanation. Some days she wondered what other versions of him might come along, but as odd as they were… they were all him. It was a strange feeling to have her heart split between them and yet remain truly romantically attached to only one. People said that everyone loved each other in different ways, but this was truly a new perspective on that adage.

Jillian tried not to think about that too often, though. It made her head hurt a little to focus too much on Alters and others and Extra classes. For now, she appreciated the warmth of her Lancer’s hand in hers, and tried to think of ways that she might be able to make a very large dragon a little less lonely.

* * *

 

**The Missing Year: Week 32, Day 4**

Joseph was really just looking for someone to kill some time with, and wound up wandering the halls just to see whose doors were open. Chaldea life was exciting, but sometimes a little boring in the evenings, after dinner and training were finished and they had some free time. No contact with the outside world meant that they had to find other ways to entertain themselves, all while trying desperately not to concentrate on the fact that they couldn’t contact the outside world because it had been essentially blown to smithereens.

Artoria Lily sat in a desk hair, looking glum. Grant stood behind her, looking incredibly confused as he held up strands of matted blonde hair.

“What… are you doing?” Joseph asked, blinking slowly.

“She took her hair down and can’t get it back up, so I told her I’d try,” he said sheepishly. Joseph shook his head, kneeling down in front of the very sullen little girl.

“Who  _ normally _ did your hair, honey?”

“Merlin.”

“ _ What _ ?” Grant asked, astonished.

“Okay. Come with me. We’re going to go get someone who knows how to do hair. Give me that.” He snatched the brush from Grant’s fingers and took Artoria’s hand in his free one. Thankfully, all of the Masters’ rooms were in the same wing of the building, so it didn’t take long to find the one he was searching for and knock on the door.

“Melody?”

“Yeah, come in!”

Melody and Jillian were seated cross-legged on the bed, halfway through some kind of card game. He pulled Artoria into the room, urging her to walk in before he did.

“I need you to fix this child.”

He extended the hairbrush outwards as if passing a baton in a marathon. It seemed to take a moment for the girls to process the situation in front of them, but Artoria just waited patiently, blushing slightly. Joseph didn’t blame her— he’d be embarrassed to be caught with his hair in that state, too.

“Oh. Oh, no.” Melody’s eyes went wide as she took the brush from Joseph’s hand. “Okay. Come on and sit on the bed, sweetie. Let’s get you straightened out.”

“Can I watch?” Joseph asked, moving closer. Melody nodded while Artoria climbed up on the mattress among the blankets. It only took her a moment to get settled, her legs dangling off the side of the mattress, and Melody immediately went to work behind her, trying to untangle the disaster that Grant had unwittingly created.

“What happened?” she asked quietly, gently separating the knots with the brush.

“I wanted long hair like Nursery Rhyme and Medea, but now I can’t get it back the way it was,” she pouted.

“That’s okay. We’ll get it back in place.”

“Merlin normally put it up for me, but he’s not here…” she said sadly.

“Where is he? You would think he’d be a Heroic Spirit, too,” Jillian mused.

“You’d think, but he’s not dead. At least, that’s what Roman says.” Melody slowly worked the tangles from Artoria’s hair, separating it out into sections. “Joseph, can you hand me the bobby pins from the nightstand drawer?”

“Yep.” He passed her a handful of them, which she placed in a pile on the blanket beside her.

“Hang on, can we please go back to ‘he’s not dead?’” Jillian asked, raising her hand like she was in school. “How is that possible?”

“Well, his legend ends with him being buried alive, but Roman says he’s in Avalon, which is the same place that they theoretically ferried off Arthur to after…” she paused, looking pointedly down at the little girl sitting in front of her. Melody floundered for a moment before shaking her head, pulling strands of Artoria’s hair into the braided bun. “Never mind. The point is that he’s not a Heroic Spirit because he’s immortal, inside or outside of Avalon.”

“Even Mages die, though. Unless…” Joseph trailed off, but he was sure Melody knew what he was thinking. All Mages eventually died, unless they turned to eating souls. However, he didn’t exactly want to say that in front of a tiny child.

“Merlin is, at most, only half human. I’m not entirely sure what his other half is, but classical myths generally say demon. He was baptized immediately after birth to prevent him from becoming the antichrist or something. It’s been a while since I read it and my memories are a little,” she said with a shrug.

“That’s… some backstory.” Joseph let out a low whistle.

“Yeah, for real.” Jillian leaned back against the pillows on Melody’s bed, eyes following her nimble finger movements as she finished the braid around Artoria’s bun.

“I’m thinking he’s still able to leave somehow, though…” Melody muttered, sticking pins in the bun to hold it in place.

“How?” Jillian raised an eyebrow, looking skeptical.

“It’s just a working theory. I’ll update you when I’m further along…” she trailed off, putting the last pin in place. “Okay, shake your head back and forth and tell me if it’s secure.”

“All good!” Artoria said with a smile, sliding off the bed. “Thanks, big sister!”

“No problem.”

Joseph watched as Melody went to turn back to her card game, obviously thinking that Artoria was headed on her merry way, but she stayed standing by the bed, twiddling her fingers.

“You okay?” he asked. Artoria nodded, gaze dropping a little.

“It’s just… could you teach me how?” she asked quietly.

Melody looked surprised for a moment before she nodded.

“Sure! I’ll need somebody to use as a model, though. Jillian doesn’t have the right hair for it, and I can’t show you on myself very well.”

“Okay! I’ll go get Medea!”

Before they could say another word, she was sprinting out of the room and down the hall. Joseph watched as Jillian packed up the cards scattered over the comforter.

“You know what, if it’s okay, I kinda want to learn, too,” he said.

“Yeah, stick around. We’ll have a braiding party,” Jillian said with a nod. “I’m not good at it, but it sounds fun.”

When Saber Lily reappeared a few minutes later, she had in tow not only Medea Lily, but Medea’s older self, Nursery Rhyme, Hannah, and Jack. Joseph blinked in surprise at the crowd, but he at least understood why older Medea was present— she had an EX rank crafting skill. More than likely she would be absolute ace at hairstyles.

He hadn’t exactly expected to pass the evening in a room full of child servants learning how to braid, but he had to admit… it was relaxing. Melody played soft instrumental music in the background, from her phone instead of by her magic, and they all made themselves comfy on the large floor rug while they worked. Medea and Melody took over with the more complicated braids, while the others took turns braiding each other’s hair in a circle or practicing with pieces of ribbon. Nursery Rhyme struggled a little, as her small hands weren’t particularly dexterous, and Jack didn’t have much hair to braid, but everyone generally seemed to be having a good time. At some point, Jeanne wandered in, and Joseph was positive that he could see the sparkles in Medea Lily’s eyes as she asked to play with her long, golden hair. Of course, she agreed.

“Why don’t any of the boys here braid their hair?” Jack asked.

“Some do. Just depends,” Jeanne said. “Not all of them have hair long enough to braid.”

“Mr. Tesla does, and Shirou’s hair is  _ veeeery _ long,” Nusery Rhyme pointed out. “Oh, and big brothers do, too.”

Joseph looked over at Jillian curiously. “Big brother” typically meant him or Grant, but it obviously wasn’t either of them. Who else would she refer to as a big brother?

“Big… brothers? Plural?” Jillian asked hesitantly, continuing to weave Nursery Rhyme’s soft, silver hair into a four-strand plait.

“She means Cu Chulainn and teacher,” Medea Lily clarified, oddly allowing her older self to show her how to work a complex braid into Jeanne’s incredibly long hair. It took him a moment to process who “teacher” was before he realized that it meant Chiron. He was in charge of the training regimens for the little ones, probably because he was the only servant around with any experience training children, not to mention the only one with the patience for it.

“Why are they big brothers?” Melody’s brow furrowed in confusion.

“Because you and Jillian are big sisters, and Cu Chulainn goes with Jillian, and Mr. Chiron goes with you.” Medea Lily shrugged like it was the simplest thing in the world, her eyes never leaving Jeanne’s braid.

Joseph tried not to laugh, and would swear on all future accounts of this event that he really did try, but he completely, utterly,  _ miserably _ failed. All he really managed to do was clap a hand over his mouth to stifle it ever so slightly, shaking with laughter as he leaned back against the side of the bed. Hannah also badly stifled a snort of laughter, but Joseph thought it might be more of a reaction to  _ his _ laughter than anything. Jillian looked a little stiff and red in the face, but Melody had gone from blanching to slowly executing a fabulous impression of a summer tomato.

“Kid has a point,” Hannah said. “Don’t worry, they call Drake big sister, too. She’s… sort of warming up to it.”

“He’s… we don’t… um…” she stuttered. “What did  _ he _ say about that, exactly?” Melody squeaked.

“I second that question.” Jillian nodded, catching Melody’s eye for a moment.

“Cu doesn’t mind.” Artoria smiled innocently, which just seemed to make Jillian more flustered. Joseph didn’t quite understand why, since they’d been in an obvious relationship for a while now, but maybe it was something about the implications of a more permanent commitment that the moniker implied, which he could get behind.

“What about Chiron?” Melody bit her lip, suddenly very focused on Hannah’s hair.

“Well, we called him that one day and he looked at us kinda funny,” Jack admitted, cocking her head to one side in a way that made her look a little birdlike. “But he hasn’t asked about it.”

“Um, girls,” Melody stuttered, clearing her throat, “Chiron and I don’t… We don’t go together in the same way that Cu and Jillian do.”

“You spend the same amount of time together,” Artoria said pointedly.

“And he protects you on missions,” Medea added, looking dreamy. Perhaps even Medea’s older self wasn’t immune to the romantic fantasies her younger version entertained.

“He’s my trainer,” Melody said firmly, “Not to mention my friend. We just… click well, and he protects me because I use support magic, and it’s difficult for me to shield while doing that.”

“Mmmm… whatever you say,” Joseph said, giving up for the time being. Anyone with eyes could see why the little ones might make that mistake, but with the exception of her surprised embarrassment a minute ago, Melody wasn’t one to show her emotions outright. Neither was Chiron, actually, which made it all the more difficult to pinpoint what they were actually thinking. For now, he was glad that Melody had a reliable trainer and a small squadron of servants able to protect her in battle while she worked her support magic for the rest of them. Only time would tell on any other matters.

  
  



End file.
